


Pokemon: Underground

by cherrytruck, oudeteron



Category: Pocket Monsters | Pokemon (Main Video Game Series), Pocket Monsters | Pokemon - All Media Types, Pocket Monsters: Ruby & Sapphire & Emerald | Pokemon Ruby Sapphire Emerald Versions
Genre: Alternate Universe, Conspiracy, Established Relationship, Illustrated, M/M, Multi, Neo-Noir, Nonbinary Character, Organized Crime, Other, Pokemon without the Pokemon lol, Rating may be adjusted, See chapter notes for TWs (if any), Slow Build, Trans Character, University, Unrealistic Lavish Lifestyles, also the violence isn't that frequent like don't be SCARED to read the fic, originshipping, political corruption, some additional pairings to be determined
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-11-05
Updated: 2016-01-20
Packaged: 2018-04-30 05:35:54
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 8
Words: 23,419
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5152253
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrytruck/pseuds/cherrytruck, https://archiveofourown.org/users/oudeteron/pseuds/oudeteron
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>An Originshipping AU set in a neo-noir version of London, where fashion is wonderful but crime rates are ridiculously high, the economy is crashing, and no corner of the street is safe. Wallace is a medical student who, on his way home, bumps into a crime scene that he was never meant to witness. He finds a world of hidden conflict that tests the strength of his character as well as his relationship with Steven.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Off the Rails

**Author's Note:**

> A huge thank you to Oudeteron for collaborating with me in this project and putting up with me. I also want to say thank you to everyone else who has interacted with me in some way or another - I'm sorry if we never got the chance to talk, but please do say hi, I won't bite!
> 
> All artwork drawn by yours truly.  
> [Visit our blog](http://pokemontheftauto.tumblr.com/) for more art and other updates!
> 
> Appropriate trigger warnings will be included in the beginning of each chapter as appropriate. The general ones to look out for are for violence, blood, torture and death. This fic is rated explicit as it will contain sexual content later on as well (consensual, unrelated to any of the warnings).

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a harmless day, Wallace ends up witnessing something that changes his life for good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Warnings: Contains blood and death of non-major character.

The train home had completely changed direction, still barrelling away into the night. The front carriage was silent, with no sign of human occupation - except for a dead body with a knife still lodged in its back, surrounded by a gang of smartly dressed henchmen who were now looking at Wallace with the clear intent of going after him next.

  _I still haven’t even finished my tea,_ Wallace thought in a illogical stupor. _How does someone like me end up in such a mess?_

 

~

**6 hours earlier**

 “Well, I still don’t get how the bloody clotting cascade works. No pun intended,” Wallace sulked as the class finished and many now-bamboozled medics were leaving the lecture theatre. Today was a rare day when Wallace hadn’t sat through the lectures all by himself as _one_ friend had decided to turn up, albeit after skipping several days. That one friend was Winona, a fellow medic who didn’t quite have the best track record for attendance, yet somehow remained up to date with all her medical knowledge, arguably more so than Wallace. She did have an excuse - kind of - for missing out so much: her part-time job was pretty unpredictable.

 “It’s not so hard if you think about it simply - just remember it goes from factor 12 to 11 to 9 to 10 and then you reach the common pathway! Easy, right?”

 “Why does it have to have a pattern like that and then suddenly get confusing midway?” If there was one thing Wallace had learned so far in his studies, it was that science had super messy terminology and things at times simply did not follow logic. “Well, whatever, what are you doing this evening?”

 “I’m going to go work out at the gym since I’ve got a big role coming up, it’s another stunt double job and there’s going to be a ton of jumping away from explosions! I wonder if they’ll use green screen or real fireworks? But either way, better get these biceps ready!” Winona flexed one of her arms, which drew attention to her already pretty ripped figure. She was far more athletic and in shape than Wallace was - not that he believed his slimmer  figure was any less admirable, but it was annoying that he found himself out of breath after a few seconds running for the bus during his commute.

 “Wow, congrats on the job! Does that mean you’ll be skipping even more lectures though?”

 “Well, I’ll try not to,” Winona said with a cheeky smile. “But what can I do when I’m supposed to be saving the world in the land of Hollywood? It’s a tough call really.”

 “Clearly a doctor with excellent priorities. Anyway, I’m going to go meet Steven in a few minutes so I’ll see you tomorrow - or...uh, next week? When do you even next plan to come?”

 “You’ll see me when I’m here!” Winona waved and then ran off effortlessly on her way to the gym. Wallace continued the opposite direction towards the train station, walking briskly so that he wouldn’t keep Steven waiting too long.

 

~

 The only person easier to spot in a crowd than Steven was most likely Wallace himself, so it was no wonder the two located each other at the Tube station easily. Steven looked well rested today, something Wallace was always glad to see as he knew the man was prone to stress. He smiled as he noticed where Wallace was standing, an expression that was soon mirrored between the two of them.

 “Wallace!”

 “Oooh! Hi Steven! Or should I say...Steve?” Wallace replied teasingly, knowing full well how flustered Steven always got at the short version of his name. It was his favourite way to wind him up, perhaps next to taking terrible blurry pictures that made Steven look unflattering, only to claim that they were cute all the same.

 “Yes, yes, I expected that,” Steven greeted him back with a one-armed hug that would allow them to keep walking. “Here, we’re almost missing the train!”

 “Oh! Quick, run!” Wallace managed to efficiently speed up, while Steven ended up a few yards behind him - but they both eventually got on. Panting, Wallace sat down, while Steven remained standing up in front of him.

 “You look gorgeous as always,” Steven remarked, brushing his fingers against the silky transparent top that Wallace was wearing. “What a daring outfit to have...but it looks so great on you.” His fingers played around with the bikini strap not covered by his top.

 “I know,” Wallace said without any modesty, brushing his leg against Steven’s. “I suppose you look okay today.”

 “Thank you,” Steven responded, since anything resembling even average praise from Wallace was considered a privileged commentary.

 One lunch and several window-shopping trips later, they had settled down inside their favourite tea shop - bubble tea, to be more precise. Wallace had never taken to plain old tea much, but bubble tea was perfect (or, as Steven regularly pointed out, the concept was so unique and had many possible variations, just like Wallace). The shop tended to be mostly empty this time of the day, giving them more than enough room to enjoy the drink together in peace. Not that they needed a lot of room, because they usually ended up more snuggling than sitting next to each other, shielded from view just enough by the layout of the shop to be comfortable.

 “Well, I’m surprised you haven’t taken any awful candid shots yet,” Steven said as Wallace took a sip of the colourful drink, dangling his phone in front of Wallace’s face like some sort of hi-tech bait.

 Wallace grabbed it as precisely as he could manage - hey, being precise was just one thing expected of a doctor-to-be. “What, you want me to change that?”

 “Maybe… I wouldn’t want to deprive you of your fun,” Steven replied with a kiss on Wallace’s cheek.

 “That’s _definitely_ too smug of an attitude to have,” Wallace decided, habitually navigating to the camera icon. “Let’s appreciate that cute face then…” He laughed as Steven tried to duck out of the photo, tapping the screen over and over to capture the most awkward likeness. “That one makes you look like a pigeon at this angle!”

 Predictably, Steven’s curiosity was too much for him to resist leaning towards Wallace for a glimpse of the photo in question. “What? How does this look like --”

 “Like this!” Wallace retorted triumphantly, stealing an awkward photo with Steven’s face right in the centre this time. Steven rolled his eyes and dropped his head on Wallace’s shoulder.

 “There, safe spot. I can’t believe I don’t mind you doing that with my phone.”

 “Not as safe as you think…” Wallace almost cooed, sliding the phone camera in front of Steven’s face, though he couldn’t even see what he was picturing. “But they’re not really candids if you’re expecting me to take them, are they?”

 “That would be a bit unethical if I didn’t, yeah.”

 Wallace put on his best voice of understatement, “A bit.” He snapped a quick legitimate picture of himself to upload to his album instead, much of which consisted of self-portraits in one charming location or another. This one, endearingly, showed the top of Steven’s hair in the bottom right corner. Satisfied with his documentation, Wallace reached down to slip the phone back into Steven’s pocket.

 Steven wrapped an arm around him tighter, visibly content that things had quieted down. “How’s Juan doing, by the way? Forgot to ask last time.”

 “Oh, he’s all right. Well, I’m not sure actually.” It wasn’t often Wallace found himself unsure of something with Steven around, although he had to admit that Juan was most often the topic that did it. “He complains about money on and off, but he never gives me any less for uni or to spend in general. It’s just ‘the economy’ whenever money comes up these days. Anyway, it’s getting late…”

 “Yeah,” Steven agreed, gracefully avoiding any further comment on Juan’s situation, but he made no sign of moving. Wallace laughed and leaned back into him.

 “You know, I don’t need to rush, but you still have someplace to be,” he pointed out, caressing Steven’s thigh lazily while Steven combed through his hair.

 “True.” Steven said it more like a sigh than a word, but although they hated to be apart, Wallace knew that he’d be just fine once he made it to his evening class. Just as Wallace was trying his chances with a career in medicine, Steven’s hopes lay in the area of law. And unlike Wallace, he only had a few classes to attend each week, so missing out on one would be a bad move, no matter how Wallace enjoyed sitting here cuddling. Even if he did always tease Steven about being the clingy one.

 “Well let’s go then, come on, up!” And Steven obeyed, holding Wallace’s hand all the way to his stop outside.

 

~

 Since Wallace had avoided rush hour, the scene at the train station was fairly empty. _Good_ , he thought to himself. There wouldn’t be any issue of being crammed onto the train or having to deal with noisy kids and other rude passengers. And while it was pretty late, there were still plenty of lights around. The train was already there, ready for departure. It seemed like nobody else was on. Finally, a luxury commute all to himself - even if the train was filled with litter everywhere.

 The journey usually took around fifteen minutes. Wallace continued to practice his selfie poses, trying to find more diverse angles than the ones he had already exhausted to prove that he looked great from all sides. Truth be told, 90% of the photos he took didn’t seem to come out as good as he would have liked. _Not hiding my insecurity in my own image at all._

 Just as he was about to upload a decently shot photo after some 150 attempts and playing around with every filter possible, he noticed his phone had lost signal.

  _Huh, that’s strange_. The whole journey usually allowed for internet access since the train never went into an underground tunnel. Actually, Wallace noticed something very odd aside from being underground right now. The train had never stopped at any of the expected stops and the journey must have been going on for a good 30 minutes.

 “Ohhh, no.” Wallace’s first thought was that he had boarded the wrong train, but then he had another realization: there was no way he could have missed his stop. This line only had one possible branch and Wallace’s station was the terminus. What the hell was going on?

 With no signal to make a call or find out his location, the driver intercom being silent, and no other passengers around to ask where the heck this train was heading, Wallace decided perhaps the best thing to do was to go knock on the driver’s door. He began to walk up to the front of the train, carriage to carriage.

 When he finally got there, he wished that he had stayed put.

 He found himself facing a dead man on the floor, a knife stuck in his back like some grotesque piece of cutlery. There were a few live passengers in the carriage, sure - but they looked responsible for this crime scene, and they did not look happy to see Wallace.

 “Hey, I thought nobody else was on this train?!”

 “We need to dispose of this witness!”

 “Shit!” Wallace dropped his tea cup and took off running back to the previous carriage, the henchmen chasing after him. As he ran, Wallace tried to grab any litter he saw on the seats to distract his pursuers with, mostly old newspapers he threw into their faces to impede them for a bit. Still, although he was surprisingly fast now that he was in such an extreme situation, there was only so far he could go. He ended up stuck at the last carriage, and there was no way out.

 “You can’t escape Team Galactic,” sneered one gangster as he approached. Wallace was now backed into the corner, watching in terror as the man took out a second knife, ready to plunge it into him.

 Just as Wallace mentally said his prayers, the man about to attack him suddenly crumpled to the floor. The others turned in surprise, only to also get knocked out in quick succession by what turned out to be an ordinary umbrella. One or two of their remaining cronies upped and ran before Wallace had a chance to determine what was happening. He stood there in a state of shock, heart thumping so loudly that it felt like the sound echoed right through the train and down to the railway tracks. It was only when he managed to scan his surroundings properly that he realized who his saviour was.

 “...Juan?”

 “Wallace! Did they hurt you?” Juan offered him a hand and Wallace grabbed it, immediately clinging onto the older man, barely standing up as he still couldn’t feel his legs.

 “Uncle Juan! I thought...I thought I was going to…!”

 “I’m here, Wallace.” Juan remained calm and comforting even as Wallace broke down in tears, the full realization of just how close he had come to death only rushing into his head now. “It’s all right, you’re safe…”

 “Juan...how did you end up on this train?! Where are we even going?”

 “I was planning to go to your town to go meet a friend, but it seems like our train got hijacked by those thugs for some reason or another. Wallace, look at me.” He did as told, wiping his tears carefully so as not to ruin his make-up even more.

 “It’s not safe for us any longer, I’m afraid,” Juan continued. “The gang you came across is called Team Galactic. They are highly dangerous, performing hits on certain people specifically in a targeted fashion like this. Unfortunately, we were both in the wrong place at the wrong time and since we’re witnesses to this scene, we’re going to be added to their list of potential hits.”

 Wallace felt about ready to faint. “Can’t we just like...call the police or something?” he tried feebly, already dreading the answer.

 “Team Galactic have evaded the police for a long time. You definitely should report this, but it won’t guarantee your safety.”

 Wallace wasn’t used to hearing Juan like this; the man was always going on about his banking troubles or some more lighthearted topic like fashion. “Juan, how do you even know about all this?”

 “Because,” Juan said with a faint smile, “I read the news.”

 Wallace noticed the paper in his hands and couldn’t help a small smile of his own. Juan’s newspapers and umbrella, which he carried with him no matter the season, were the one trustworthy thing that gave him a slight comfort on this dangerous ride to nowhere.

 The train came to a sudden unannounced halt, in the middle of an unfamiliar lit tunnel. The doors opened. In the distance, a new intimidating voice could be heard.

 “Hey assholes! Did you get him and all the stuff?!”

 Juan’s voice dropped to a whisper. “Wallace, we need to get out of here. Follow me and don’t make a noise.” He led the way sneaking out of the unmoving train and Wallace followed suit, both trying their best to blend in with the shadows.

 “We’ve been compromised,” the distant voice echoed as they proceeded further away from where the train had halted. “There was this poncey bloke who saw us and then we ran into --”

 “Wallace, up this ladder here,” Juan interrupted. Wallace nodded and began climbing up, not too fussed that he was missing out on whatever those thugs were saying about him.

 “They can’t even find the right word to insult me,” he muttered, and Juan chuckled a little. As they completed their ascent, Wallace pushed the manhole above and climbed out onto concrete pavement, back into the city. Though it was an unfamiliar place, it immediately felt closer to home.

 Once Juan had emerged, clutching his umbrella, Wallace made that phone call to the police. They headed to the nearest spot with lights, although either way the whole place was quite deserted and no shops were open any longer.

 “Wallace, I need to tell you something.” Juan looked down, looking more serious and upset than Wallace could ever remember seeing him. “I need to go into hiding.”

 “What?! Juan, what is this about?”

 “I have to make a confession. This isn’t the first time I’ve bumped into Team Galactic. After witnessing them more than once I’m sure I am a priority on their kill list now. Wallace, you won’t be so high up since they have many more priority targets, so you won’t need to resort to hiding yourself...but I still want to ensure you are safe. That means you should probably find somewhere else to stay. And avoid public transport. You can’t trust it anymore these days.”

 Wallace shook his head frantically. “But the police are on their way! Just say you’re a witness and they’ll give you protection!”

 “The police can’t protect me,” Juan said without a hint of compromise. “And anyway, I’m not too keen on them. They think I gave false testimony against an officer, and even though I swear on my life I told the truth, they’re not going to go out of their way to help me since they think I’m just some old liar.”

 “I never knew about this.” Wallace’s tone was subdued. “Juan...you’ve kept a lot of things from me.”

 “I’m so sorry, Wallace. I hoped I wouldn’t be a burden on your life. Don’t worry about me. Don’t contact me through my current number -I’ll get a new one and contact you. Every time we start a call, say this phrase: _Isn’t Milotic looking pretty today?_ And I will respond, _Remember when it was a Feebas?_ If neither one of us says this password, we assume one of us is in trouble. I’ll still send you money so you can afford driving lessons or a taxi or to rent a place somewhere closer, or just do anything to avoid this damn dodgy train route.”

 The password jolted an old memory of visiting the London Aquarium together when Wallace was younger, and how he’d nagged Juan to adopt one of the amazing creature on display until his uncle relented. It warmed Wallace’s heart until a gust of wind whipped his hair so it caught and grated on his lips in the cold, forcing him back to the present moment and the reason why they were talking about it all. “Wait, Juan! What if I never hear from you, what do I do? How else can I find you?”

 “I promise, I will get in touch with you when the time is right.” Juan stole a glance ahead as police lights swam into view in the distance. “Wallace, I may not be with you in person, but believe me when I say I will always be there for you. I promise.”

 “Juan…”

 But Juan was already off to destinations unknown, just managing to vanish completely before police cars reached the area. Several officers came out to investigate, one of them instantly approaching Wallace.

 “You’re Wallace? Are you hurt in any way?”

 “No, sir.” The cop stood out in that he didn’t wear any protective gear or even a helmet. He did carry a mean-looking baton, though, which contrasted with the bright red of his hair.

 “Good, glad to see you’re safe. You’ll be all right. Come with me to the car, we’re going to the police station where you can make a statement and catch some rest. I’ll get you some hot chocolate when we get there.”

 “Thank you,” Wallace said as the policeman showed him into the vehicle. “Sir, may I ask your name?”

 “They call me Inspector Fraser, or some even nickname me the Dragon Cop,” he responded. “But you can simply call me Lance.”


	2. Different World

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wallace deals with the aftermath of the night's events. Steven takes it upon himself to make the adjustment to their new situation a bit easier.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello! Oude here this time. Thanks to everyone who's read the first chapter and double thanks for the likes and comments. We know it's all a little...opaque at the moment, with regards to what's up with Juan in particular. Hopefully you'll find the rest of the fic interesting enough to stick with and find out! We have an [FAQ](http://pokemontheftauto.tumblr.com/faq) on the Tumblr blog that will be kept updated, but if there's anything you're not sure about in this AU, do feel free to bring it up anytime. Also, any comments are appreciated and put under a gold frame (figuratively, but you get the idea!).

 

Wallace appreciated the quiet room at the police station, where he was sheltered from all the noise and clutter still happening as officers carried on responding to other nightly crimes. He was holding the warm cup of chocolate Lance had promised to bring, and even wrapped in a blanket as a bonus. As Wallace checked through his phone, he saw all the panicked messages Steven had sent him, before he finally declared that he was calling the cops himself.

There was a sudden knock on the door, and an officer poked her head in. “There’s a Steven Stone here with me, he claims to be your boyfriend - is that right?”

“Oh, yes, that’s right. Could you please let him in?” He had barely finished the sentence when the door opened the rest of the way and a panicked Steven rushed into the room, looking for all the world like he’d just lived through a heart attack.

“Wallace! What happened? I’m so glad you’re okay!” He halted next to Wallace’s seat to pull him into a hug, one that felt half desperate to hold onto him and half careful in case Wallace had any injuries.

“Steven…” Even saying the name alone made Wallace sound exhausted to himself. Then again, he barely knew which of the conflicting emotions struggling to get to the forefront he was supposed to feel first, so the tiredness dulling their impact was probably a good thing. “I tried to call you, I’m so sorry you were worried…”

“It’s okay,” Steven murmured back in the kind of tone that indicated it was _not_ okay, but that didn’t matter as much as making Wallace feel less miserable.

“No it’s not,” Wallace stuttered out as all the horror of the night slowly caught up with him, now that he was safe and with someone he trusted enough to let it show. “I was so freaked out, I saw a crime on the train and I got mixed up in it, and there was no signal and I just --”

He could have sworn he felt Steven’s heart stop hearing that, but all Wallace could do was sit there, leaning into Steven’s now very tight embrace. Soon Lance helpfully arrived at the scene and filled Steven in on the details Wallace had already recounted to the police, sparing him any further attempts.

When it was Steven’s turn to speak, he barely managed. “And all of that just...happened? Out of the blue like that?”

“I’m afraid so,” Lance replied with more sympathy in his voice that Wallace would have expected of a policeman. He sounded almost like a doctor in A&E. “But for the time being, I am satisfied that there’s no imminent danger to Wallace. The criminals would hardly dare to approach us at a police station, even if they knew this is where we went. It seems they were still underground by the time we arrived to pick Wallace up, probably trying to wrap up whatever they were there to do, so I doubt they could have tailed us.”

“So what you’re saying is that you’re happy to leave them be?” Steven asked with rather more bite than Wallace would have thought advisable under the circumstances. “If they’re still out there, that makes the whole city unsafe!”

It was almost funny how practiced Lance seemed at fielding adverse reactions from the public. “I understand your concerns, but going after them without adequate information would have been far too much of a risk at the time. Not to mention you probably agree with how we prioritized getting the witness to safety.”

“Yeah, Steven,” Wallace spoke up into the ringing silence that followed. “Not even you can argue with that, can you?”

Steven heaved a sigh. “It’s just not encouraging to know these people are perfectly free to do as they please after this,” he said evasively.

“I agree,” Lance assured him without missing a beat, and Wallace made a mental note to copy some of the man’s calming tactics for his own future patients. Anyone who could pacify a paranoid Steven definitely had to know their stuff. “So we can start by taking Wallace’s testimony in more detail, to help us get ahead in this investigation. I’ll go check if we have a free room - sorry about that, there is a procedure. Is that all right with you, Wallace?”

“Oh - yes,” Wallace replied, snapping out of his reverie.

“Then I’ll be right back. Please just wait here.” And with that, Lance was out the door.

“I’m so sorry this happened,” Steven whispered into Wallace’s hair, leaning closer. “I - I wish at least I could’ve been there to help…”

“No, don’t wish for that,” Wallace said, thinking back to Juan and how much more difficult it would have been for him to keep an eye out for an additional person. “What could you even do, fight them?”

“Well --” Steven began with a hint of indignation, when the sound of the door opening cut his incoming tirade short.

It was Lance. “Hope I haven’t kept you waiting. Wallace, I’m going to take your statement now. Will you be more comfortable if Steven stays with you?”

“Yes, that - that would help,” Wallace blurted out, not even trying to hide the relief in his voice.

“No problem then, come with me.” Lance guided the two of them through a busy hallway filled with ringing noises and uniformed officers bouncing commands off each other. They seemed a little less organized than one would expect from law enforcement, but then Wallace had never been to a police station before.

“Hey!” a tall, tough-looking officer yelled towards someone Wallace couldn’t see, “You haven’t filed this report! I needed that for today, now what am I supposed to show them?”

The image of being at A&E late at night returned, all the chaos of conflicting priorities with never enough time to do everything. Wallace wondered if Steven understood any of this cop talk, what with being a law student and all.

Eventually Lance showed them into a room with some recording equipment. The huge desk in its centre also housed a golden statue of a dragon, a freshly made cup of coffee and a box of donuts. Wallace’s gaze lingered over the glazed pastries - when was the last time he ate?

“Help yourself if you like,” Lance said knowingly as he propped himself onto his seat. “You’ve had a rough night, so it’d do you good.”

“Hmm...well, thanks,” Wallace said as he picked out a donut.

Lance turned on the dictaphone. “Now then, Wallace, I need to take down some details about yourself.” He took out a form and a pen and began to write some numbers and letters that Wallace had no idea about, though Steven looked on with intrigue. “You have the right to remain silent and you can divulge as much or as little as you want. Steven, please keep in mind you are here to offer moral support, not to interrupt or otherwise interfere with the testimony. Now, Wallace, I already have your full name on file. And your preferred title?”

“It’ll be Doctor in a few years,” Wallace said in a slightly smug tone. “But for now I just go by Mister if I must.”

“Ah, I see. So you’re a medical student. Very good.” While Lance was obviously trying to maintain an air of professionalism here, Wallace recognized the standard reaction most people had once he revealed his chosen profession: Lance immediately seemed more impressed. “OK, Doctor in the making Wallace. I need to know what you were doing before you witnessed the crime.”

“Right, let me think.” Wallace took a deep breath, doing his best to recall how the whole evening had gone down. He felt Steven’s hand resting over his. That made it a bit easier, and Wallace couldn’t help but smile at the comforting gesture.

“So...I was on my way home and boarded the train. It was empty as far as I could see, but I just assumed that was because it was later than usual when I take this route. I sat down and I...got distracted on my phone, a bit. Then I noticed the journey was taking a bit long and that we were in an underground tunnel. I was confused so I decided to go to the front carriage to talk to the driver. That’s when I came across the scene of the crime.”

Lance looked up from his notes. “This is more or less exactly what you said earlier. Good. Can you tell me again as much as you can remember of the scene? Take your time, I understand it isn’t easy to think back to the moment, but the more detail you can give us, the better we can deal with everything.”

“All right. Those men I saw, they were with Team Galactic. They said I wasn’t supposed to be on that train and so they tried to take me out. But then…” Wallace hesitated on whether to mention Juan or not. That was the one “detail” he had not yet divulged, worried the police would make it their business to locate Juan too and interfere with whatever he needed to do to keep himself safe. Luckily, Lance’s attention seemed to be captured by something else altogether.

“Wallace, about Team Galactic. How did you know those men worked for them?”

“Um, they said that to me. ‘You can’t escape Team Galactic.’ That was while they were chasing me, so they probably thought I’d be in no shape to talk about it later.”

Lance nodded, but immediately asked him again, “And you’re absolutely sure on this point? This is important.”

“I’m not lying,” Wallace retorted, a little shaken by the sudden insistence. “I didn’t even know there was a Team Galactic before today. How would I make that up?” Steven’s fingers squeezed his hand gently, and Wallace exhaled slowly to calm down.

“Don’t worry, I don’t think you are lying at all,” Lance reassured both of them, signing the paper he had been taking notes on as Wallace spoke. “It’s just that anything to do with Team Galactic is very serious business, so we need to double-check any information we get. You were very brave to have dealt with them. They’re a gang we haven’t been able to do much about. It’s quite frustrating. Anyway, that should be all…”

The moment Lance concluded the formal questioning was apparently Steven’s cue to get back into the swing of things. “Inspector, do you have any explanation for what happened tonight? Like how Team Galactic were even able to conveniently take over a train, let alone divert it from its destination --”

“We’ll be gathering more evidence, but the train had most likely already been hijacked by the time it left the first station. We think Team Galactic tried to put up a front that it’s a regular service by briefly stopping in stations, but since it was late in the day, they expected no one would actually board on so long after rush hour. When we secured the train, it was at an unused track leading to an abandoned rail depot.”

Steven still looked agitated. “But will you offer Wallace any protection after this?” Unsurprisingly, Wallace thought, he was far more bothered by this issue than the murder Team Galactic had been there to commit.

That didn’t seem to make the greatest impression on Lance. “Mr Stone, I will do my best to offer what I can, but the police force is on a rather tight budget and we can only follow the standard procedures. Besides,” Lance’s voice dropped in volume, “we are a little disorganized at the moment. But I will personally make sure your case is assigned the more reliable officers.”

“Well, _that’s_ reassuring to know,” Steven grated out, turning fierce to the point where Wallace found it a little uncomfortable.

“Wallace, it is up to you whether to accept the protection I can offer or not,” Lance reiterated to Wallace directly. “Like I said, all I can guarantee you is that we meet the standard for similar cases.”

“Thank you, Lance,” Wallace said pointedly, before Steven had a chance to go off on another tangent. “So, is there anything else I need to do?”

“Not really, but I understand you might be too concerned to go home now just like that. You’re welcome to stay the night in my office, since I’ve only got a little paperwork to do.”

Steven joined in, his tone civil enough to avoid embarrassing them both in front of Lance again. “We should arrange for you to stay in a new place just in case.” Wallace recalled Juan’s recommendation along the same lines. “Anyway, for now I’m staying here with you, and then we can figure something out together. Does that sound okay?”

  
“Steven...thanks.” Wallace gave a tired smile. Maybe there was no need for a cop to tag along as his bodyguard after all, when he already had a lawyer in the making who didn’t back down from intimidating anyone he didn’t feel was treating Wallace right.

 

~

 

“What, you broke your leg on set?!”

“Yeah, so it seems I’ll be out of a job for now. Sucks, huh?”

Despite being on crutches, Winona moved almost as fast as ever, showing few signs of struggle as she navigated the steps in the lecture theatre. She also refused to sit at the front, disregarding her condition in favour of more privacy to catch up with each other’s recent adventures at the back of the class.

“Well, I suppose at least I have insurance. Anyway, never mind about that - are _you_ all right, Wallace?”

“I’m fine now. The police are on it and Steven said he’s going to make arrangements to sort all this mess out. About where I’m going to live and safely get to class so on, that is.”

“You can always stay with me,” Winona insisted. “It might be a bit of a tight fit but you’re welcome to come by if you ever need a safe house.”

“Thanks for the offer, I’ll see about it if Steven doesn’t come through. Anyway… Winona, this means I may need to skip a few days so I’m asking you a favour to help me not fail this course. I don’t want to take the year out because it’s just so expensive to pay an extra year, and I’m not letting some random bunch of mobsters delay my graduation. Plus the uni would think I’m being paranoid to go into hiding just for witnessing a crime.”

“Wallace… I’m sure the uni will understand you need to take a rest and give you exam and coursework extensions after what happened. But if you’re suggesting I actually come to lectures and share notes with you...then I’ll do it!” Winona’s smile was like a burst of sunshine. “I’m out of a job anyway, so I’ve got more time to come to lessons. No excuses to be skipping now!”

“You should take it easy too,” Wallace reminded her. After class, they walked outside the building together, talking some more until they noticed the crowd of students converging up ahead. It seemed to have formed a circle surrounding something or someone, making sounds of awe over some spectacle that they couldn’t see.

“Hey, what’s going on here?” Winona marched ahead on her crutches, leading the way past the other students. Once the two of them had made it to the front, Wallace wasn’t sure whether to find himself flattered or wish he had more privacy.

The mysterious spectacle turned out to be Steven, leaning against a brand new silver Porsche parked right next to the pavement. Though Wallace had expected to be picked up from uni, that expectation certainly hadn’t included Steven buying him the car of his dreams, the very one Wallace constantly joked about getting for his next birthday if Steven were serious about their relationship.

“Oh,” Winona said eloquently.

“Hi Wallace! Winona!”

“Steven - um, what’s all this?” Wallace asked, though he felt like a fool for it.

“You know what Lance said about safety, right? Luckily I don’t go to classes nearly as often as you, and can reshuffle any other obligations as necessary,” Steven beamed. “So I thought this would be better than to risk a repeat of what happened to you on the train. I don’t mind driving you around…unless you’d prefer to learn, maybe?”

Wallace felt himself blushing, not sure if it was more from the fact that Steven would go to such lengths to make him feel safe or the fact that he was so bloody ostentatious about it. “Maybe, yeah,” he said in his turn, barely able to look away from the shiny vehicle Steven now owned. “Well, all right, this car is amazing. But you’re ruining the safety bit here, showing it off to everyone like this!”

“Aw come on, who wouldn’t show this off at least once!” Winona jumped in, both figuratively into the conversation and literally into passenger seat of the car, finding it unlocked. The crutches really did nothing to hinder her. “Steven, you _have to_ drive me home. I mean, just look at my leg…”

They all laughed, even Wallace momentarily forgetting about his privacy concerns. “I suppose that’s fair,” Steven replied, helping Winona close the door while Wallace climbed into the back behind the driver’s seat. “You’ll have to navigate me though, I’ve never been to your place before.”

“Sure, almost as good as driving this thing!” Winona practically chirped with excitement. Wallace would have laughed if he didn’t occasionally sound the same way, especially when there were actual birds involved. It was how he and Winona had met, feeding breadcrumbs to pigeons in the university courtyard.

“So Steve…” Wallace leaned forward to his partner once they were all seated, chuckling at Steven’s customarily funny reaction to the nickname. “Show us how fast this can go. Also I cannot believe you’re paying the congestion tax just to pick me up.”

“Well, _Wall_ , if you have a problem with that, you can always go and write to your MP,” Steven countered. “Okay, everyone buckle up!”

“Safety first,” Wallace muttered in amusement.

“Don’t underestimate that,” Winona said, already secured in her seat. “And speaking of, Steven, where are you headed after this anyway?”

Steven put on his seatbelt, then turned the key to start the engine. “Good thing you asked, since I’ve almost forgotten to bring that up with all this excitement going around. Wallace, how do you feel about staying at Cynthia’s?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some funny British terminology here, just in case:  
> A&E - basically an equivalent of the ER abbreviation, that is emergency services. No relation to any TV channels. XD  
> "Write to your MP" - "contact your representative in Parliament". Probably wouldn't be very successful with getting the congestion charge abolished, as its main purpose is to reduce traffic/air pollution in the inner city by charging you for driving private vehicles there during the day.


	3. Safehouse

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Wallace and Steven are in for some more life changes as they move house, thanks to an old friend with a complicated backstory. [Content Warning: brief mention of past domestic violence.]

 

 

As Steven drove up to the lavish property, sheltered from the rest of the bustling city, Wallace wondered how Cynthia even had the room for a huge place like this. They arrived at a formidable-looking gate, which prompted Steven to get up and use the intercom.

“Hey, Cynthia. It’s me, Steven. We’ve made it.”

“Great! Good thing you’re finally here. Right, I see you. Come on in.”

The remote-controlled gates opened, allowing Steven to park inside the courtyard. While Wallace had never visited Cynthia’s home before, Steven had been quite persuasive about how lovely of an area it was, not to mention perfect for their purposes of staying safe. Now that they were here, even after the first minute or so, Wallace could already tell none of it had been exaggerated. He wasn’t sure if he’d ever seen a house with so much space everywhere, certainly not in the inner city. The apartment Steven had inhabited with his dad until now was no match for this, as it was closer to the centre and therefore in an area that was more cramped by definition. This really was something else.

“So I take it you like it here?” Steven’s tone was nonchalant, contrasting with Wallace’s awe at the surroundings. There was an ornamental fountain just barely in his line of sight, but Steven got his attention back before he could suggest they go inspect it. “I hope you see now I wasn’t just making it all up.”

“It...would be hard not to like this,” Wallace said in a hushed voice, as if embarrassed that Cynthia might overhear just how much of an impression her home was making. As soon as Steven retrieved their suitcases from the car, they walked up the garden path towards the main entrance to the property, noting the elegant plants blooming all around with birds visiting as they pleased. Finally, the couple knocked on Cynthia’s door, which she answered quickly with a welcoming smile.

“Thought you might need a moment to look around. Steven and Wallace...it’s good to see you! Welcome to your new home!”

Steven was the first to respond. “Aw, don’t be like that Cynthia, it’s still your place after all! Thanks so much again for having us.”

Awestruck as Wallace was, he couldn’t help joining in. “Hi Cynthia, and really, thank you. You have no idea how much this helps right now.”

“You know I couldn’t pass up on helping a friend in need. It’s been quite lonely most days anyway, so I could use some company.”

She gave Steven a hug, and then to Wallace as well. The two of them were somewhat familiar, though it was Steven who had known Cynthia for years due to their common interest in ancient rocks. Wallace had met Cynthia perhaps twice, once for coffee and another time by coincidence at university. Her educational background was ridiculous: she was earning PhDs like crazy, having long since moved on from geology to applied physics, and at the moment she was conducting research for her tenth PhD. Much as Wallace wondered how this was even possible, he had never felt quite bold enough to ask and especially not now. He’d already lost track of what the rest of her subjects were anyway.

“Oh!” Cynthia interrupted his train of thought. “Shoes off, please!”

“Finally someone who understands how to keep a place tidy,” Wallace said approvingly, taking off his boots in the antechamber. The interiors were incredibly clean and spacious, yet another sharp contrast with the grimy side of London he had always known.

“I’m so glad you’re not arguing it,” Cynthia laughed, but then her countenance turned serious. “I’m so sorry to hear why you’re having to move though, Wallace. You’re really brave for being able to carry on. I thought the least I could do was offer a nice place for you both to migrate to - I’m hardly at home these days, so I figured you of all people deserved to live here as my roommates. Please do make yourselves comfortable!”

“See, isn’t this great?” Steven smiled as he spoke. “I wanted to find something really good if you had to move, and well away from where all that happened. I’m feeling pretty safe here, how about you?”

Wallace nodded, still working through just how impressed he was. As they made their way to the living room, he had to take a moment to process the layout of it again. That one room was probably bigger than his entire old flat. “Damn!”

The whole viewing carried on like this, with Cynthia’s mansion being almost like some kind of science museum crossed over with a posh hotel. The lounge contained an aquarium that held Wallace spellbound for a good few minutes, watching the fish glide serenely past and happy that he could name more than a few of them. The study contained what could only be described as a small observatory, along with books and tools that looked like they were relevant to Cynthia’s studies. Her laptop was still on, indicating that she must have been in the middle of something before she had to get up to welcome her guests.

Later on with the pair finishing their dinner, Steven cleared the plates and decided to do the washing up since Wallace was far too preoccupied with a display of Cynthia’s multiple qualifications. As Steven took his time loading all the cutlery into the dishwasher, Wallace also began to wonder where Cynthia had gone. Faint splashing sounds from out the open window caught his attention, and a closer look revealed a partially covered swimming pool taking up most of the back patio. Right now, it was pretty much an outdoor one, but the area was enclosed by a roof and several sliding walls, ready to turn it into more of a conservatory if needed. Cynthia herself was having a swim, her black swimsuit contrasting with her hair in the pool lighting.

The sight of all that luxury was so tempting, Wallace walked out the patio door before he even had the time to wonder if it was rude to just show up. Fortunately, Cynthia seemed unruffled by his presence.

“Hey Wallace,” she called out when she noticed him standing there, leaning onto the edge of the pool. “How are you finding the place so far?”

“It’s amazing.” And an understatement too. The whole house was like a dream, like something Wallace could have called home in a different universe. In a way it still intimidated him - more than visiting Steven’s family, anyway - even if Cynthia was doing everything possible to be welcoming.

“Next time if you bring yourself some swimming gear, you’re welcome to swim along - or you could dive in right now, even!”

“I’ll definitely be shopping around for something cute to swim in now.” Wallace sat down on the edge of the pool to dip his feet in the water, on eye level with Cynthia. “I’m really thankful that you’re just letting me crash with you like this. Is there anything I can do to return the favour?”

“Don’t worry about it, Wallace. Like I said, Steven told me about what happened, and he is a good friend who I owed a favour to, anyway.” Cynthia smiled. “I understand what it’s like to be in danger. No matter how much you study, how much you understand about the universe, I feel like I can’t ever truly understand some people...or myself, sometimes.”

Wallace leaned in closer. “What do you mean?”

“I lived with a friend once.” Cynthia looked down, her face becoming solemn. “Back when I did a PhD in a tech field at another institution. We were very close. We were also research partners in a project to produce clean energy, using an alternative method of nuclear fission. I thought he was very compassionate and intelligent. I thought I knew everything there was to him. But…”

There was a pause. Cynthia seemed to be gathering her bearings before she could continue. Wallace looked on, not wanting to interrupt, but begging to know what happened.

“As we continued the project under the same roof, he began to say these little things that bothered me. Things like how it was his theory that free will was a flaw in human biology and that he was curious to try some strange radiation experiments. At first I figured he was entitled to his own opinion even if I disagreed with it, but then his behaviour took a turn for the worse and he started being downright creepy.”

“I’m really sorry to hear,” Wallace said to try and comfort her. “He sounds like a bit of a dick.”

Cynthia laughed. “Yeah, he was! So I tried to ignore it and put up with him only for the sake of my research, but then one day he told me he wanted to change our project’s aim. Instead of creating a device to generate clean nuclear energy, he wanted to turn it into a weapon. Well...I didn’t dig the idea, and we got into a big fight.” Cynthia inclined her head to her left shoulder, drawing Wallace’s attention to a faint scar.

“Oh, no. I’m so sorry…”

“It’s okay. It didn’t hurt much really, I didn’t even notice that was there until afterwards. I was just so focussed on defending myself.”

“What happened after that? You did manage to stop him from sabotaging your research, right?”

“Yeah.” Cynthia brushed her hair aside to cover her shoulder again. “You know, despite the fact that he talked to me about it, he had already modified the device behind my back before he ever bothered to tell me. He just needed the rest of my blueprints to complete the process. Naturally, I wouldn’t have agreed and he knew it.”

“What an asshole! What became of this guy then?”

“Well, he kind of tried to kill me when I refused. Fortunately, by that point I knew it was hopeless trying to reason with him, and I had no use for his drama. He tried to pull the trigger on me...so I took his gun and pulled it on him.”

Wallace drew back. “Whoa.”

“I didn’t kill him though, I couldn’t. He was knocked out and booked in by the cops, and now he’s behind bars degrading like radioactive waste.” Cynthia took a moment to pause again. “I didn’t have to shoot him. Maybe I could have just run away but...I wonder what I was thinking. Maybe I wasn’t.”

“Could anyone blame you? I don’t suppose I’d be thinking much either.” Wallace shook his head. “I’m really sorry to hear about this. Is this why you do so many PhDs, to try and forget?”

“Not really.” Cynthia shrugged. “I just enjoy doing research and happen to have a lot of free time.” She sank into the pool, then emerged to the surface to swim backstroke in elegant form.

 _And money too, clearly,_ Wallace thought without jealousy. As he sat there musing, it was Steven who approached him next. “Hey, sorry for being slow. What were you guys talking about?”

Wallace looked up. “Did Cynthia tell you what happened to her in her first PhD?”

“Oh, yeah. She doesn’t usually mention it. Pretty rough stuff, isn’t it?”

Wallace turned back towards the pool, where Cynthia was now lounging at the other side. She noticed Steven and waved at him. Wallace saw Steven’s reflection on the water, smiling and waving back.

“I helped her out a little back then by letting her stay at my dad’s place during the investigation, since she felt so unsafe,” Steven explained. “So I suppose she feels it’s fair to help us now that we need it.”

 

~

 

Settling in their new bedroom for the night, Wallace lay down on the bed. Despite not having done much today, he was tired; maybe things were still a bit more hectic than normal. It didn’t take long for Steven to join him, yawning as he snuggled into the covers. The lamp was still on, but other than that the room was soothingly dim.

“Steven...do you think we’ll be okay?”

“Hm?” Steven put a hand on Wallace’s arm and stroked it to comfort him. “Wallace, I’ll always be here for you. We’re taking steps to give you a safer lifestyle - I’m driving you around and Cynthia’s place is like a fortress. You don’t need to worry when you go to bed.”

“Well, it doesn’t change what happened.” Wallace sighed, angry with himself that Steven’s words didn’t calm him down. “I keep having nightmares about that day. You’d think as a med student I wouldn’t be this disturbed seeing a few guys get knocked out, but it’s not the same. I was all alone and scared…”

“I know, my poor sweet,” Steven said, leaning towards Wallace to kiss him on the forehead. “You’re really brave for going through this, and now the best thing we can do is make sure they leave you alone. Okay?”

Wallace wanted to feel convinced, but it was hard to feel completely reassured given the threat was serious enough to move house. Steven must have picked up on his uncertainty because he went on, “I’m here with you, remember that. If you feel anxious or anything, don’t worry about it and just wake me up. I might not be asleep for a while anyway. I’ll be here to protect you.”

The earnest way Steven said all that made Wallace want to forget that neither of them had any weapons or training in case Team Galactic did come knocking. Something about Steven’s voice was just so comforting. Wallace stroked his cheek in appreciation. “Thanks...”

“I’m serious, try not to think about it. It won’t help stressing.”

“I know.” Wallace sighed. “It’s just all a bit much...this sudden change in lifestyle, I mean. In a way I’m getting what I want, aren’t I? I’ve always wanted to live like a millionaire...I just never imagined it could happen like this.”

“But then again,” Steven began, and Wallace could already see where this was going, “doesn’t that mean there’s _some_ positive aspect to this all? A bit of silver lining?”

“Maybe a bit, yeah. The thing is, I’ve always tried to feel unique and special going out, but as soon as I came back home, it reminded me I was just another person relying on others’ money to get by. So really, I should be happy, I’m getting even more of a free ride from you and now Cynthia as well, but…”

“Hey, you don’t need to talk about yourself like that,” Steven interrupted, suddenly all passionate. “You’re not ‘just another person’, okay - at least I think you’re special, you’re Wallace, you are a great person with a huge heart and so much creativity! And that’s what I love so much about you. Among many other things.” He planted a kiss on Wallace’s forehead. “And anyway, you only deserve the very best after what happened to you.”

Although he still couldn’t quite see it all Steven’s way, Wallace felt himself calming down a little. “Steven… Thank you. I guess this is just really overwhelming and I need to settle down for a bit. It doesn’t help that I can’t talk to Juan either until he contacts me…”

“Oh, didn’t he say he’d get in touch with you?”

“He did.” Wallace threw his phone a resentful glance. “But as you can see, he hasn’t yet. I still wonder why he had to go into hiding. Why couldn’t I go with him?”

“There must be a reason. He probably just knows a lot more than we do.” Even then, Steven didn’t sound terribly convinced himself. “Do you think he’d start ignoring you just like that?”

“I’m not sure anymore.” Wallace sighed again. “I felt like I knew him enough, but clearly there is a lot he’s kept from me. I don’t know what to think.”

“What I know for sure is that he wanted to protect you,” Steven said, sounding determined again. “I wish I had the chance to thank him for helping you out back there myself.”

That brought back a perspective Wallace had almost forgotten to take into account in the past few days. “That’s true. Juan’s always tried to protect me since I was a kid. I just hope it doesn’t come back to bite him.”

 

~

 

Both Steven and Wallace had the opportunity to stay at home the following day, which was precisely the sort of uneventful break they needed. There was enough to keep them entertained in the household: Cynthia had only established that her bedroom and private bathroom were off limits, but other than that they shared all the interesting parts of the house like the living room and kitchen, not to mention the study and the huge garden with the swimming pool included.

Water had always had a calming effect on Wallace, and it was this opportunity to spend hours just lounging and swimming that really lifted his spirits as the day went on. Steven alternated between working on his laptop and coming into the pool with him, and Wallace was happy to let himself be cradled in Steven’s arms whenever that happened. It was a sleepy, relaxed afternoon, one that almost made it possible to forget all their worries and live life one sunny moment at a time.

Then, just as Wallace was finally drying off at the poolside with Steven observing him affectionately from the folding chair, his phone rang. The number was one he didn’t recognize, but hoping it was Juan and not a random telemarketer, he answered instantly.

“Good evening, Wallace. Isn’t Milotic pretty today?”

“Juan!” It took Wallace a second to recall what he was supposed to do in this situation. “Oh...um, I mean, remember when it was a Feebas?”

“Ah, good, you remembered. Are you doing well?”

“I’m fine! Steven and I have moved somewhere safe, so you don’t have to worry. I’m so glad you called! We were just talking about you yesterday--”

“Wallace, again just let me say how sorry I am that you were involved in all this. I am safe as well, although it remains to be seen how long I can stay at my current safehouse. You may use this number for the time being should you need me, but every now and then I may need to change it, so be on the lookout. Is there anything else we should discuss now?”

There was quite a lot, but at the same time Juan was hardly going to be able to deal with every single one of Wallace’s problems from wherever he was, so Wallace chose to focus on the positives. “Other than that I was just so worried about you, I’m doing good, Juan, really. Can you at least give me a hint where you are?”

There was a sad chuckle over the phone’s static. “I’m always by your side. You’re not ever alone, Wallace. The angels are watching over you, I just know it.”

“Uncle Juan…”

“Like I said, don’t you worry your head about me. I’m sure we’ll get to talk in person before you know it.”

“I hope so,” Wallace replied with a slight smile that he knew Juan couldn’t see.

“I’m very glad to hear you’re safe. Oh, give my regards to Steven, will you?”

“I will,” Wallace assured him. “And you don’t worry either. There’s more security here than anywhere I’ve lived before, and people I can trust.”

“Good. That’s the most important. Take care of yourself, Wallace. I’ll call you whenever I can.”

“Thanks--” But with a curt _beep_ , the line fell silent.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We'd love to know what you think so far! Even if it's a comment along the lines of "wait what", since it might take a while for all the different plotlines to come together. But they will...they will.
> 
> Also, Steven's dad does still have a decent amount of money in this, but he's not quite the mogul he'd be in the games because that would make the story far too easy.


	4. Followed

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just as life starts being relaxed again, reality comes knocking. And it's wearing a police uniform.

 

 

Although Wallace stuck by his resolution not to let his studies be derailed, he did rely on Winona’s notes for most classes and only went to the compulsory ones. Since there had been such a one today, Wallace found himself in the car with Steven afterwards, free to enjoy the ride while also secure in the knowledge that nothing was wrong with his attendance. He almost managed to forget that the whole reason for having such a luxury commute was both their safety, since driving around with Steven was almost like a field trip in itself. He just hoped it wasn’t too much of a waste of Steven’s time, but then he always seemed to be on top of his studies unlike most of the people Wallace knew.

Taking advantage of the surroundings, Wallace whipped out his phone to take more selfies while they drove through the busy city, through the sights of tall glass buildings and other fancy architecture. The music playing in Steven’s car - all hand-picked by Wallace, incidentally - set the mood for their fashionable driving and helped Wallace feel extra smug. He was pleased when he got a good shot of himself and Steven actually looking photogenic for once, though that was probably because the man wasn’t trying to pose too hard to the point of looking daft, and a great background to boot.

“Hey Steve, you actually look good in this photo.” Wallace teased, knowing Steven couldn’t even look back at him seeing as he had to keep his eye on the road.

“Glad to hear that.”

“So when will you get to work in one of these fancy buildings? The thought of you sitting in some desk inside one of these shiny buildings is a real turn-on for me, you know.”

“Wallace...I don’t think these are even law firms. Aren’t these like, banks?”

“Oh, maybe.” Wallace didn’t really know how Steven could even differentiate these offices, at least the ones that didn’t have their logos visible. To Wallace, any modern office was just a generic place for smart-looking people in suits to hang around in regardless of their profession, inaccurate as he guessed that was.

Just as he was observing the suited men filing out of one of those glass buildings, the sound of a police siren startled them both. Wallace looked back with concern, seeing that the police car had managed to get itself right behind them and it was tailing them, definitely a cue for Steven to pull over.

“What? I wasn’t even going over the speed limit!” Steven reluctantly pulled over. He didn’t even look up at the person approaching the car, instead speaking more to the steering wheel, “What seems to be the problem, officer?”

“Steven. It’s me.”

“Huh?” Steven looked up and Wallace laughed at how slow he was to realize. “Lance?! H-hey, what’s the meaning of this?”

“Easy there, Mr Stone. I’m not here to give you a ticket.” Lance looked over at Wallace. “Nice car you got here. Steven really went his way out to make you as comfortable as possible while travelling, huh?”

“Yeah! Commuting is actually pretty fun now!” Despite the unexpected encounter, Wallace couldn’t help but enjoy it when people brought up how much they liked Steven’s car.

“Okay, Lance, so what’s the deal here?” Steven interrupted. “Why pull me over if I haven’t done anything wrong?”

“Maybe _you_ haven’t, but...” Lance took out his phone and showed them a photo of another car. “See this car here? I was trying to tail it from a distance for a while, but then I got real worried when I noticed it was stalking you lot. That’s when I sounded the siren to scare them off.”

“That car was following us?” Wallace shook his head. “We never noticed!”

“Who is it, and what do they want with us?” Steven immediately changed into a serious tone, the kind that usually filled Wallace with dread - he always wished Steven could chill out a bit more, or at least not immediately assume the worst.

“I suspect them to be a member of Team Galactic. It cannot be good news. Perhaps you are in more danger than we first imagined.”

“You were the one who said Wallace wasn’t in immediate danger! I knew things weren’t going to be that easy,” Steven said, breathing fast now. “So what the hell do we do?!”

“We’re going to go after whoever this is. But right now we need to come up with a plan. Please follow me back to the station.” With that, Lance returned to his car and drove on ahead.

“Do it,” Wallace requested.

“I guess we have no choice,” Steven said in a voice that sounded like a painful mixture of anger and panic. “I just knew this would happen, I knew this wouldn’t go like the cops said--”

“Steven.” What Wallace knew was exactly how this rant would go, and he was not very keen on hearing it.

“ _You’re not in any immediate danger!_ Sure, as if. Of course it’s just business as usual to them, they’re not the ones who have to live with this mess of a situation…”

“Steven!” Wallace put one hand on Steven’s on the steering wheel. “Can you please just calm down.”

“But what good will that do? I’m really not happy with how these cops are acting, like it isn’t a big deal--”

“It clearly is a big deal to them, otherwise they wouldn’t be contacting us,” Wallace pointed out, since appealing to some sort of logic was the best bet at curbing Steven’s paranoia. “You think I’m not angry finding all this out? But you’re not helping right now.”

He could have sworn Steven literally bit his tongue to prevent himself from responding. An uncomfortable silence settled over the car. Out in front Lance’s vehicle took a left turn, which Steven followed.

“I’m sorry,” Steven ventured after a while. “You’re right, that wasn’t helping. It’s just I’m so freaked out.”

“Well, imagine how I feel,” Wallace said. “I know this isn’t easy on you either, but I’m worried enough about Team Galactic as it is. I don’t need to add how you’re going to react to everything to my list of problems. If you want to help me like you keep saying, you need to stop making it worse.”

Steven gave a sigh, eyes fixed on the road ahead. Finally, he relented, “Fine. But you try to be a bit critical of Lance, I mean, just because he’s a cop--”

“Okay, fair enough. If Lance suggests something too dodgy, I’ll let him know it’s not happening. Just don’t embarrass me in front of him again?”

“Hey, that’s not why I - wait, looks like we’re here.” The police car had parked in front of an unassuming low-rise building, with Lance motioning for them to follow his lead. Wallace was glad to see Steven refrained from making another scathing comment on their surroundings, but the expression on his face made it plain that he was far from impressed.

 

~

 

“Admittedly, we aren’t quite sure how Team Galactic operates anymore,” Lance said, staring solemnly at Wallace across the desk, “because they seem to be making you one of their top targets. Usually that only happens with people who directly did something to upset them, beyond just witnessing a crime scene.”

As understanding as Lance had been throughout their exchange at the station, it did nothing to reassure Wallace to hear that most of the people with such a target painted on them found their problem difficult to outrun. Police protection could be provided, but something always turned out wrong - poison in the poor individual’s drink at the local café, a pipe bursting to cause a gas leak - anything that would go undetected long enough for the perpetrator to vanish back into the shadows before any foul play could be established.

“It’s real hard catching these guys. Of the few arrests we’ve made, many have had their cases dismissed or were released on bail although that was obviously the wrong choice. Sadly, witness protection can also highlight your status more so they’ll use all kinds of nasty ways to take you out in a way that looks like an accident. Even if you intentionally confronted them and they made an obvious move in public to warrant an arrest, they’d probably manage to take you out anyway.”

“I see…” Wallace curled up on the couch where he was sitting, trying to control his breathing. He could tell himself in a clinical fashion that hyperventilating would lead to respiratory alkalosis which would make him faint, and he didn’t want that to happen while he was holding another cup of Lance’s hot chocolate. It tasted good, but Wallace felt too sick to want to consume much of anything. “Lance, do you know why I’m such a priority target?”

“That, well…” Lance paused. “You must have witnessed something they absolutely did not want you to see at any cost. But I guess gangs can also change the way they operate. We find that although they have a pattern, they may go by different rules at times.”

“Is that all you can say? This is ridiculous!” Steven was clearly not helped by Lance’s talk - although realistically, Wallace doubted he’d expected much to begin with.

“I am willing to offer Wallace my personal protection,” Lance said in an obvious bid to defuse the situation. “It’s not a guarantee that nothing will happen, or a standard procedure to offer to witnesses, but let’s say it would just be very bad if this case escalated with further lethal violence.” He took out his baton from the side of his belt and tapped it against his hand, which did make him look quite physically impressive. “Worst case scenario, I can shield you, but don’t forget that I am still armed. I can make sure it doesn’t progress that far.”

“N-no…” Wallace knew that he should have been happy Lance was going out of his way to help, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that it would only displace the problem rather than solve it.

Steven’s opinion was of course the exact opposite. “Come on, Wallace… Don’t be so selfless you become bait for a mob organization just because you’re concerned about Lance - he’s trained for this, and you’re not!”

Just then, Wallace had an idea. Thinking about it, as distressed as he was, he was also someone who was incredibly feisty when need be. It would be dangerous, but as someone who was going to live it out as a doctor in the future, should he always make safety his first concern when resilience was necessary?

Perhaps the way to deal with a gang of liars was to let them taste their own medicine.

“Lance. You mentioned if I put myself in public then they might show up and make a move that provides enough evidence to prosecute them.”

“Ohhh no.” Steven shook his head. “Don’t tell me…”

“Are you suggesting we pull off a sting operation?” Lance looked away and thought for a moment. “That is incredibly dangerous to you, Wallace. You’d be exposing yourself and you need to put on an act that does not give anything away. It’s not in your best interest to let you do this.”

Steven just sat there frozen, for once clearly agreeing with Lance but too shocked to do anything else to show it.

“Lance, Steven...please, just think about it. What difference will it make if I run or hide? You already told me I’m a top-priority target, except if I hide, they’re going to try and make it look like an accident and eventually they will succeed. At least if I’m in a public place, everyone will be aware of it and your case might get somewhere.”

Lance nodded slowly, while Steven had the look of someone trying to wake up from a bad dream.

Wallace cleared his throat. “Anyway, I feel like I’m actually probably safer surrounded by people instead of hanging around with one guard. That’s not to undermine you, Lance - but it makes sense, doesn’t it?”

“Hmm.” Lance took out his phone. “Hold on, I need to make a call. But you need to think real hard about this. If you feel this is a more effective way to protect you, we can consider it.” He went to the room next door, where he could not be heard.

“Wallace! Are you out of your mind?” Although Steven had about regained the power of speech, he still looked in more shock and disbelief than even Wallace when told he basically had a death sentence chasing him. “What are you thinking, trying to be some kind of big hero or risking your life just so Lance can get a better case?!”

“It’s not about that, Steven. Look, isn’t hiding exactly what they want me to do? It sounds like they’d have an easier time to get rid of me that way, and that’s why they keep intimidating us! You saw how the guy ran off after hearing Lance - being seen is what scares them!”

“So what if it does, is that really worth risking your life over?!” Steven demanded, before he sank back into the chair and buried his face in his hands. “I just...I just don’t...”

Wallace reached out a hand to pet Steven’s hair, knowing it was futile getting him to like this idea. He genuinely felt a lot safer in the prospect of intentionally luring Team Galactic out in public and having some semblance of control over the proceedings, as opposed to being silently taken out only for justice to never be served, but for Steven that was clearly the last thing he wanted.

Mercifully, Lance returned. “All right, Wallace. I have a plan that should keep you safe and let us catch whoever they’ve sent after you. Steven, ever wanted to have legal experience in criminology?”

“Not right now,” Steven said without looking up, the second time that day.

“Just give me the information for now, Lance.” Wallace received a file that, upon closer inspection, contained some of the previous investigations into Team Galactic and particularly the most recent case. He wished Steven showed any interest of reading along, seeing as he was the one who could interpret the legal jargon better.

“So the guy I saw killed was named George Green...poor man.” Wallace read through the man’s profile again, finding nothing particularly interesting that could have led to him becoming a Team Galactic target. He had been an investor who specialized in technological products - perhaps the motive was money, or a deal gone wrong?

As Wallace flipped to the next page, it turned out to be neither. “Oh. According to this autopsy report, he died of anaphylactic shock…”

“Anaphylactic shock?” Steven asked suddenly. “He died of an _allergy_?”

“Well, in anaphylactic shock, your body has an overly sensitive reaction and sometimes the person can’t breathe as their airway tightens, so without treatment they suffocate to death. This says Mr Green had a shrimp allergy. They found out that he’d eaten shrimp not long before his untimely death.”

“Good to know your medical knowledge is top notch,” Steven said as if to keep the conversation on anything but the assignment Wallace was planning to embark on. “But then what’s with the stab wound? That’s what you saw, right?”

“Apparently the knife was only added afterwards. Hmm…it says here the time of death was approximately 12:30 PM.”

Steven pointed out what they were both thinking, although he sounded agitated again. “Isn’t that the exact opposite of what we’ve just heard about how Team Galactic works, making deaths look accidental? What were they thinking, letting you see this instead?”

“You tell me.” Wallace flicked once more through the file, landing on the summary page with all the legal jargon again (in case Steven wanted to have a look) and ending his medical expertise input.

“The motive is unknown,” Lance confirmed, joining the conversation. “Definitely not theft, since Mr Green’s ID, wallet as well as his golden watch were all still on him when he was found. We’ve looked into his activities and there was nothing that struck us as suspicious or interesting. He was supposed to attend a meeting at 3 PM on the day of his death - that is, the same day that you discovered him, and we know why he’d never turned up.”

“So Mr Green was already long gone when I saw him on the train…” Wallace shook his head. “I just don’t understand! First they make deaths look like an accident and then--”

“As I told you, gangs may change their rules,” Lance said in the tone of someone who had seen such things happen a thousand times. “More importantly, Wallace, you’ll be glad to know that if you go on a sting operation, you won’t be without protective gear. Steven, follow me and have a look as well. It may reassure you to know we’ll do our best to keep Wallace safe.”

They entered the next room, which had almost the air of a cloakroom or a similar dressing area: there were coat hangers and wardrobes with different styles of clothing stocked around, and they noticed a small selection in the middle that looked close to something Wallace might have picked out from the store.

“This here looks almost like your typical dress, only reinforced with a bulletproof vest underneath that should cover all your vital areas,” Lance elaborated. “Next, we have these sunglasses - they might look big, but they really are meant to protect your eyes and most of your face. Lastly you’ll wear this hat, also reinforced with bulletproof material much like the vest. That should give you fairly good protection of all the possible fatal areas.”

“Wow, neat! And in character, too, I’m impressed.” The only downfall was that lifting these clothes, Wallace found them to be quite heavy, and it would take practice to walk around in them as normal. Still, it amazed him how quickly Lance had managed to provide. “So, Steven, are you reassured?”

“Well…” Wallace could practically hear the gears in his head turning, accounting for more risk factors than the police themselves would bother with. “It’s not going to shield you everywhere, is it? The sunglasses in particular.”

Wallace shot an exasperated look to Lance, then zeroed in on Steven. “True, but I can’t exactly walk in there wearing a spacesuit. This is fine. Remember we’re aiming to get them before they start shooting, so all this is more like extra precautions.”

Steven still seemed unconvinced, and Lance suddenly looked much more nervous than Wallace had seen him throughout the whole day. As the uncomfortable silence mounted, Wallace sighed and resumed the conversation himself, “You know I appreciate you being concerned, but you can’t stop me from doing this. If it’s too dangerous, or if for some reason it seems like it won’t work out during planning, we’ll see whether it’s still worth a shot. Lance, is that fine on your end?”

“Of course. I can’t force you to cooperate, nor would I want to. Plus, even just one successful operation would be incredibly helpful to the investigation. I’m not going to ask for more than that.”

“Okay. Let’s try it once and see what we learn,” Wallace concluded. Steven offered up no comment for the time being, although Wallace knew he’d probably not hear the end of it until the whole assignment was successfully behind them both.

“Then that’s settled.” Lance held out a hand for Wallace to shake, and then for Steven. “Welcome to the team.”

 


	5. Dive In

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Lance's support, Wallace and Steven try to lure out Team Galactic, but not everything goes according to plan. [Warnings: blood, gun violence (brief mention)].

 

 

They chose to draw Team Galactic out at Canary Wharf - the place where Juan used to work, home to tall glass buildings of banks and all kinds of modern offices. It was midday, no longer peak hour, so most people were already in their workplaces. The group was not entirely alone, as there were still strangers milling about, but the reduced traffic without being completely exposed was something they thought would appeal to Team Galactic henchmen.

Wallace had taken the position of walking through the open street, while Steven sat by a nearby café looking onwards, a hidden microphone in his ear. His job was to identify anyone who may be possibly following Wallace and alert Lance to their whereabouts while the policeman remained out of sight.

“Wallace, head towards the square. There are a couple of cars driving by past and you should see Steven sitting outside the café. Feel free to interact if you want, but be aware of your surroundings.”

Wallace was glad for the suggestion, although he still felt bad involving Steven like this. It was the only way he'd managed to get Steven onboard, however, by making it so that both of them could be involved and keep an eye out on each other.

“Steven, remember you must do your job as assigned and not deviate from the plan,” Lance instructed again over the microphone so they both heard it. “Stay where you are, but do feel free to chat.”

“Hey, Steven…” Wallace approached the familiar figure, uncannily aware of all the ways it could be seen as suspicious.

“Wallace,” Lance spoke up, “go ahead and sit by him, there’s no need for you to move around. In fact it might be easier if you stay in one spot. Feel free to discuss anything, treat it like any other day.”

 _That's going to be a little hard with you listening in,_ Wallace thought, considering the things that usually worked their way into conversations between him and Steven when they weren't being monitored.

Steven took a sip from his coffee and looked up at Wallace, clearly thinking something similar. “Hey. How’s life?”

“Not bad. I guess…” Wallace looked down, but remembered he had to be aware of his surroundings. “Enjoying that coffee?”

“It is good. Would you like some?” Oh, this was getting more awkward and stilted by the second.

“Hmm. Never mind, I’ll go get myself one too.” As Lance didn’t chime in at that, it seemed unlikely that the gang would follow into the coffee shop. Even if they did, Wallace supposed, it would cause such a ridiculous scene that at least there would be no way to evade public attention.

Wallace ordered his coffee. He wasn’t even sure if it was the same one as Steven’s but little did it matter; all he wanted was something to help him stay awake while waiting out on this sting. Although it would be a temporary relief if nothing happened in the end, that knowledge did nothing to make the ordeal less boring in the meantime.

But the potential of relief faded away as soon as Wallace exited the café and spotted the same black car that had tailed them a few days before. Without knowing what to look for, it would have been unremarkable, but Steven was already looking panicked when Wallace saw him, unable to keep his cover and starting to yell into the microphone.

“Lance! Lance! They’re here!”

“Steven, stay calm! Wallace, stay calm and do _not_ \--”

Everything went into slow motion as the car window slid open, revealing two sinister figures, both wearing sunglasses. One pointed a gun towards Wallace. He felt his heart stop in that moment, mind only on the fact that although he was in protective gear, something about this could still go very, very wrong.

No one inside the café paid any attention. He stood there, frozen for what must only have been seconds but felt unimaginably longer than that, and then...

“Wallace! Look out!”

The world came back into focus all at once. There was Steven, diving in front of him, shoving him to the ground. There was the sound of a gunshot, unmistakable now, people turning towards the commotion, some screaming. Even hitting the ground there was no pain, just a dull awareness that his shoulder was going to be bruised. There was another shot, and two more after that, the last one almost drowned out by the sound of crowd panic.

Steven lay on top of him, motionless. Wallace felt numb, not at all like someone who had been shot - which meant the blood pooling around them could only be of one origin.

“No, no, no,” Wallace whispered as full-blown panic kicked in. “Steven! _Steven!”_

Clinging onto that part of his medical training that said not to panic in an emergency situation, Wallace ripped off a sheet of fabric from his dress, exposing the protective layers underneath that now felt like a sick joke. There was one wound in plain sight, in Steven’s shoulder; having no idea how to extract a bullet, Wallace attempted to stop the bleeding with shaking hands. “Lance - where are you,” he stammered into to the microphone, “Steven’s been shot!”

The response came from much closer by than he’d expected. “Wallace, calm down,” Lance’s voice said both in his ear and from directly above him. “The paramedics are here. Come on, let’s get you patched up - you’re not hurt?”

“Huh? N-no, I’m fine...” Wallace resisted being pulled into a standing position, unwilling to part with Steven just like that, but he gave in when he saw the uniformed medics take over with cool professionalism. “Steven, please hang in there…”

Wallace had never felt farther from being a doctor himself, despite his own medical training. He watched as Steven was lifted into the ambulance vehicle and given ventilation.

At that point, another paramedic took him aside, confirming what Wallace already knew in that apart from some bruising and small cuts, he was unharmed physically at least. That information barely registered, what with Wallace’s anxiety getting the better of him again: his heart was racing at a rate he knew must have been unhealthy, and he found his breathing more difficult to control than when he had tied the bandage around Steven’s arm.

Lance approached him again, and it was only now Wallace noticed how exhausted the man looked, even though he likely had more than enough experience to keep his composure in situations like these. “Wallace, hang in there,” he said without preamble, “the medics are with Steven now and treating him. His condition is stable and they say he will be all right... Hey, Wallace.” Even though his vision was starting to blur, he tried to make an effort to look into Lance’s eyes. “You did a good job patching Steven up. You really helped him out there when it mattered.”

That was the last push he needed to start crying. “No, I - it’s all my fault - it was my idea and I just stood there and I got Steven hurt…!”

“This is not your fault,” Lance reassured him in a predictable fashion that didn’t get through to Wallace as much as the next statement. “If it helps, I’ve got some good news about what has come out of all this. Ok? Wallace, we caught them. The sniper managed to get them. We got one guy and the other is under arrest. We think we may have captured boss of Team Galactic.”

“You caught them? Whoever’s responsible for this?” Wallace didn’t remember a sniper being part of the plan, but it did explain those additional shots fired when Steven was down.

“It’s a little early to be completely certain, but there are good leads,” Lance said. “I hope it at least helps you knowing that for now.”

“I...thanks for telling me that,” Wallace managed. The ambulance vehicle sped off with its sirens to clear the way. Suddenly, the fact that the leader of Team Galactic was under arrest seemed so trivial by comparison.

It must have been easy for Lance to read his mind. “Come on, we’ll take my car and follow Steven. He’s going to be fine, I promise you.”

 _Please, please, please be okay…_ Wallace prayed, shaking and sinking into the seat of Lance’s car, the image of Steven barely conscious on the ground stuck in his mind on repeat.


	6. A Complicated Case

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Steven lands himself in hospital, a new player enters the scene.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Happy holidays to all those celebrating! Thank you for reading this story so far and stay tuned in 2016 for a lot more! And don't forget to check out [our blog](http://pokemontheftauto.tumblr.com/) for some sweet extras!

 

 

 

It had been a long afternoon and even longer night. The highlight of it for Wallace was hearing that Steven was going to recover, finally feeling like it was a real prospect and not just something Lance said to give him some comfort. As the hours wore on, they were joined by everyone Wallace had messaged about the recent events - really just Winona and Cynthia, since he hadn’t felt up for breaking this news to any less close friends - and it was largely because of their presence that Wallace managed to keep it together. Lance stayed behind as well, reassuring them all that he could deal with his paperwork later.

The hospital had notified Steven’s father, but being out of the country, there was nothing much Joseph could do but wait. Not so different from Wallace, really. But now, with dawn breaking over the horizon, that was at last about to change. 

As Steven opened his eyes, Wallace was conflicted as to whether he should instantly jump onto the bed and cry for joy, or stand there and yell at Steven for risking his life like a complete fool. In the end, what came out was somewhere between these impulses as he grabbed onto Steven’s uninjured hand and blurted out, “What on earth did you do that for?! Steven, you - I’m so glad you’re alive!”

Winona’s sigh was clearly audible behind them. “Good morning, Steven,” she deadpanned. “I’d give you more of a welcome but I feel you might want to handle this one at a time, or you might faint again.”

“That’s not a very sensitive thing to say,” Cynthia joined in, leaning in closer to the bed. “Steven, I’m glad to see you back with us.”

“I um...thanks, everyone,” Steven said in a faint voice, evidently unsure who he should be responding to first. “Ugh…”

“Oh no no, are you okay? Steven?” All of a sudden Wallace’s frustration was gone, replaced by the sickening rush of familiar panic that was probably not helped by the fact that he hadn’t slept in over 24 hours.

“Uh, just dizzy. And this doesn’t feel so good…” Steven nodded in the general direction of the IV drip attached to his arm. “Wallace, are you all right?”

“Am I,” Wallace repeated incredulously, temper rising again. “You idiot, you could have been killed! I was wearing a bulletproof vest there! I would have been fine!”

A hand landed on his shoulder. “Wallace, please.” It was Lance, who only now seemed to find it fit to get involved in the exchange. “Steven  _ didn’t  _ get killed, and that’s what matters the most.”

“Yeah. Thank you officer,” Steven quipped from his bed, but changed his tune as soon as he looked at Wallace again. “I’m sorry you had to go through all that. It was like a reflex. I saw them gunning for you and didn’t think…”

“Steven, don’t be sorry and don’t be daft,” Wallace countered. “You said right at the start it would be too much of a risk and I decided not to listen--”

“May I remind you I failed while in charge of the operation,” Lance interjected, to no effect.

“I really should have known this might happen,” Wallace plodded on in despair. “It’s me who should be sorry. Well, I’d do the same for you so I don’t know why I was so shocked, but...”

Steven smiled, perhaps a little smugly. “I know.”

“Hey, that’s my line,” Wallace couldn’t help teasing back. The atmosphere in the room was a lot lighter after that.

“I still feel pretty out of it,” Steven admitted, “how many painkillers am I even on? And how bad is the - ugh, no, I can’t see anything with these bandages.”

Cynthia was the one to clarify in place of a doctor. “Luckily, not as bad as it looked at first. You were out because of all the meds, but no shattered bones and they said the bullet wasn’t too complicated to remove. Obviously, you’ll need your rest. But it could have been much worse.”

“In other words, don’t act all daft again,” Wallace said with a hint of exasperation through all his tiredness. Gingerly, he perched on the side of Steven’s bed, careful not to jostle him. Everyone in the room seemed to know better than to question this, especially since Steven stretched out the hand he could move to caress Wallace’s thigh through his dress. Wallace felt himself smiling after what seemed like an eternity of stress, reaching down to entangle their fingers. 

Steven’s eyes slid closed, his expression dazed but content. They would catch up later. They had time again.

 

~

 

_ “What is your name?”  _

_ The suspect in front of Lance kept a guarded, empty expression. He had dark blue hair and eyes and was elegantly dressed, although he was beginning to show signs of neglect corresponding to the time he had spent at the station. Still, had it not been for the cruel edge to his face, he may have looked like any other smart businessman. _

_ When he spoke, calm and well-mannered, his voice was oddly mesmerising. “Thank you for your interest, Inspector, but I will need to consult my lawyer before I fill you in on that matter.” A ghost of a smile flitted over his face.  _

_ “Well, as you wish.” Lance sighed and took out his notepad. “Unfortunately for you, we already know you go by the alias Galactic Saturn. I’ll just call you that for the time being.” _

_ “It’s got a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?”  _

_ For someone being interrogated in a criminal investigation, Saturn radiated serenity. It made his entire demeanour that much more chilling, even if he wasn’t necessarily being unpleasant. _

_ Lance cleared his throat and tapped his clipboard impatiently. “You see,  _ Mr Saturn, _ I know your type. You’ll start by denying you were involved at all, then you’ll try to wriggle your way into a shorter sentence. But the fact is we’ve got all the proof we need to incriminate you as a co-conspirator in attempted murder. The best criminal defence lawyer in the country can’t make that footage disappear, so if you’ve got anything to tell me that might make the legal system more favourable to your case, you have a great chance to right now.” _

_ “Conspirator? So you know I wasn’t the one trying to kill the good doctor. That was the shooter at the scene, whom you’ve managed to apprehend. Why are you people never happy with anything?” _

_ “You knew the target’s profession, then.” _

_ “ _ Future _ profession, hopefully, but yes. I know everything I need to know.” Saturn gave a disturbing quiet laugh. “I know a lot about you, for instance. I do astrology readings in my spare time, a little fortune telling. Perhaps I can give you one when this is done, in case you need some guidance regarding your...colleagues.” _

_ “Quit it,” Lance growled, now more intimidating. “Why did you target this particular person?” _

_ “As you’ve just admitted, I’m not the one who held or fired the gun. So why would I know?”  _

_ “I don’t believe you.” Lance leaned in, close enough to Saturn’s face to shield it from view, but presumably making it difficult for Saturn to avoid his gaze. “You’re Team Galactic’s leader. You ordered that hit, and you were there to watch and make sure the job was done. I know if I let you go free, you’re going to try again. And I have better things to do with my time than tailing you and making sure you fail.”  _

_ Finally, Saturn seemed to crack a little. He looked down and took a few sharp breaths, all the time he needed to regain his composure. And then, without warning, he burst into a fit of laughter, forcing Lance back by the sheer randomness of it. _

_ “Bravo, officer! You’ve caught the big man. What will it be for me?” _

_ If Lance was disturbed by the outburst, it did not show. “Saturn, that’s not how criminal law works. You’re not getting sentenced here. All I want to hear is your motive.”  _

_ Saturn fixed Lance with that unsettling look. “Sorry, I think I am done talking. I’d prefer to wait for my lawyer now, please.” And as quickly as he had discarded his facade before, he retreated back into himself. _

 

“That was recorded the day of his arrest,” Lance said, pausing the videotape. “Guess what? For someone who was so determined to get legal advice before anything else, he sure isn’t doing what I thought he would with it. I expected he’d try to pull off some ridiculous defence case, but he’s not denying any of the charges. Suddenly he’s being very cooperative...except that he’s still evading the question of motive.”

“What a creep.” Beyond that, Wallace wasn’t sure what to think. “Does this mean Team Galactic is finished?”

“I hope so. With their leader under arrest, the gang will be without direction and become less organized or disband altogether. You did a good job putting up a brave face to help us catch this guy, Wallace.”

“Wait,” Steven spoke up, and Wallace couldn’t help chuckling to himself - of course his overprotective lawyer-in-the-making boyfriend would manage to find something to question here. “Do we know for sure he is the Galactic leader? Maybe there’s something else to it. Maybe he wants you to think that and have this case closed soon, so he isn’t fighting back in court.”

“To deflect attention from the real Galactic boss? Well, we can’t rule it out altogether,” Lance admitted. “Saturn is just the best candidate we have.”

As soon as Lance acknowledged that much uncertainty, it was obvious that Steven wasn’t done. “Exactly. You haven’t even confirmed his name, or anyone else’s in Team Galactic. It’s not that I don’t respect your investigation, Lance, but you are the public authority here. So far it’s been more about putting Wallace in danger than anything --”

“Steven,  _ you’re _ the one who just got out of hospital!” Wallace tried to interrupt.

“And despite all that, we still can’t be sure whether we’re really safe now or not,” Steven concluded with a glare.

Before Lance could form a response, Wallace jumped into the conversation again. “Lance, I hope you understand why Steven’s being a bit,” he hesitated, considering how to frame this to avoid offence on either side, “unhappy about everything that’s happened, and you can’t blame him. Can you at least promise us you’re not going forget about this case now? Because if it does turn out Saturn isn’t their leader, then not only will Team Galactic still be after us, but they’ll have even more reason to hate us for taking out someone who was probably important to their team.”

Steven, for once, seemed to be so stunned that he only nodded.

Lance shifted his gaze from one of them to the other, and Wallace noticed how much older he looked when put on the spot, carefully crafting his response. Finally, the policeman spoke. 

“As long as the case is in court, we can’t consider it over even if Saturn did tell us the truth. But you’re right that this situation is far from usual and you both are very involved now. The best I can do as it stands is offer security support, and when I’m not there - here you go. Panic buttons.” He handed the devices to Steven and Wallace, one each.

“Oooh! Is this the same thing medics wear in the movies?”

“The very same,” Lance confirmed, “and not customary to hand out in this country. Well, until recently. There has been a call to distribute more of these among front-line workers, and I’m sure you can imagine why.”

“I’ll just pretend to be a doctor already,” Wallace joked, and was glad to see that it made Steven light up. 

“And I can pretend I’m a cop,” he quipped to Lance, who had the good sense not to act offended. “All right, thanks for these.”

Though the video of Saturn didn’t leave Wallace’s mind for the rest of the day, as he stood there with two people willing to go more than the extra mile to protect him, he thought for the first time in weeks that life could, one day, go back to normal.

 

~

 

After many days off, Wallace finally found the courage to resume his studies at university again. Steven still dropped him off, even though they were all given the clear that a threat was quite unlikely to occur again.

Having missed so many days, Wallace had almost forgotten the route to his class, particularly since the area around his campus was a hub of urban development dotted with various construction sites. Trying to navigate his way through the maze of designated pathways and scaffolding, he noticed there was a new addition to the clutter that wasn’t familiar to him, attached directly to the main medicine building. 

Walking up to examine the details, Wallace noted a sign that read  _ STAR RESEARCH LABS _ . The construction-in-progress was cordoned off, but he did notice a would-be entrance to the new extension, leading him to wonder if the university had invested in a project to create bigger research facilities for the medical faculty.

“Like what you see?”

The voice almost made Wallace jump. He turned around, only to come face to face with someone he guessed to be a middle-aged manager of some sort.

“Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. It’s always nice to see people taking interest in this project. We’re helping to finance several new on-campus facilities, to help young aspiring doctors into the profession. Are you a medical student around here?”

Wallace nodded, more than a little perplexed.

“Wonderful. My name is Cyrus, and my company is hoping to encourage more students to participate in research. We aim to give them opportunities that will help fulfill the vision of moving society forward. If you’re interested, you are invited to come to our launch event in two weeks.” He handed Wallace a business card. “Please do feel free to tell any of your friends. Diversity is incredibly important to us on this project.”

Wallace turned the card over in his hand, captivated by the crisply printed letters and the red logo artfully placed in the right side of the design.  _ Cyrus Akagi, Star Research Labs. _ It sounded incredibly tempting.

“I’m definitely interested. Um, will I need to book in to attend? And is the date going to be advertised later on?” 

“Oh! How silly of me, I forgot to say. Yes, we will be placing flyers on campus since there are so many bright students here who could also be interested in the open day. Otherwise, feel free to check on our website. Anyway. It’s been a pleasure meeting you. Please do get in touch.”

Wallace pocketed the card with a flourish. “Thank you, Mr Akagi. And best of luck with your project.”

 


	7. Revitalized

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Finally finding themselves alone and relatively worry-free, Wallace and Steven revive an intimate aspect of their relationship.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are in the new year, with a very feel-good chapter to start it off. Just as a heads up if it's not obvious from the summary, there will be sexual content of the forever OTP sort. Hope you dig!

 

 

All the past happenings didn’t stop the fact that Wallace had his end-of-year exams coming up, along with plenty of studying to do. Though he could have deferred the year, he opted not to: if he did fail these exams then that was what he would end up doing anyway, and otherwise he was not about to give Team Galactic the satisfaction of delaying his progress.

Neither Wallace nor Steven had been harassed ever since Saturn was arrested and charged. Wallace still knew to watch his back, but it was refreshing in a strange way that the most that worried him at this moment was passing an exam rather than another gang member making an attempt on his life. With Steven healed up enough to go about life as normal, it finally felt like a sort of break for the two of them despite some studying stress. Especially since they still got to live at Cynthia’s, who was either too worried to leave them to their devices just yet or simply preferred not being the only occupant in such a lavish property.

With half his mind on these musings, Wallace continued going through notes in the room that he and Steven shared, trying to cover more of the annotated patient scenarios that Winona had kindly provided. Steven was at the desk, revising on his own hypothetical legal cases.

Suddenly, Steven burst out laughing.

  
Wallace dropped his notes to take a look, stretching out on the bed. “What’s so amusing?”

“Oh, just this question in the practice papers. _Steven has been charged with robbery. Which court will his trial be held in?”_

Smirking, Wallace decided to play oblivious. “I don’t know. But will they need medical assistance at the scene?”

“Come on, that’s not why I read it!”

“But why would you need to rob a bank?” Wallace couldn’t stop the smug expression that stole over his face. “I thought we finally had all the amenities we needed, or am I wrong…”

“No, but you’re terrible.” Steven shut the course book and set it aside. “Perhaps you’re the one who needs help with their revision, Wallace?”

Wallace chuckled. “ _Steve_ , I don’t know anything about the court system and you don’t know anything about the homeostatic maintenance of blood pH. How will you help?”

“Hey, I do know some things.” Steven climbed onto the bed to lie down next to Wallace. “ _I_ pay attention when you start going on about your studies. Maybe I can test you on something.”

“Hmm, come to think of it, I should practice some physical examinations. Would you be up for that?”

“Sure thing. Do you need me to act like a patient?”

“Oh, please no.” Wallace sat over of Steven and began unbuttoning his shirt - a pretty bad practice if Steven really was a patient, as in reality he’d have to ask for consent before any examination took place. Luckily that was not really their situation, and they already knew each other's body language well enough to tell in case something was wrong.

Being young and in overall good health, Steven had managed to recover fairly quickly, but along with home care instructions they had been told that he would likely always have a scar where the bullet had been extracted. That scar, though less glaring now, was what Wallace saw as he pushed the fabric of Steven’s shirt aside. He ran a finger over it, saying a silent thanks - to Steven for his determination to keep him safe, and to whatever higher power or cosmic coincidence that had allowed him to get away with just this.

“So, doctor, what’s the agenda for today?”

“How about, don’t try me?” Although Wallace knew Steven only called him that to mess around, he still made a face just to let Steven know how bad of an idea this would be as a term of endearment in public. “Anyway, I’m going to practice my percussion technique. I’m really poor at this since I keep leaving my nails long. Good thing I cut them recently so this should work…” He began to tap on Steven’s chest through his fingers, and the room was filled with a quiet sound of resonance.

“Good news, you have normal sounding lungs.”

“That’s a relief to know.”

“Perhaps let’s listen to your heart. I need to revise where I’m supposed to listen to all these parts.” Wallace, still leaning over Steven’s front, reached out for his stethoscope, placing the diaphragm on certain areas of Steven’s chest after feeling for his ribs. “Let’s see. This is the Aortic valve…” He moved to a different spot. “Pulmonary… Tricuspid and then Mitral.”

“I have no idea what these are, but I assume you got them in the right order. How does my heart sound?”

Wallace took off his stethoscope. “A strong, healthy beat. All valves sound normal.”

The unspoken gratitude for the fact still hung in the air, letting them bask in it as they talked about everything else. “Any other exams you’d like to try out?” Steven asked.

“Hmm.” There were lots of other issues to check for, but since Steven was an overall healthy person, it wasn’t like Wallace would get to practice much in the way of finding pathologies. He had already memorized the techniques and performed them on some fellow medics, especially Winona, plenty of times, so it wasn’t as if examining Steven would give him any new info. It was just an unconventional excuse for touching him, if indeed one was needed.

In place of an answer, Wallace decided to be cheeky and surprise Steven by planting a kiss on where he’d just felt his heart. Steven gasped and giggled.

“Hey! You’re not supposed to do that, Doctor.”

“Steven, you’re still not my patient.” And a good thing too, because Steven looked far too attractive lying there like that, looking up at Wallace with his chest exposed. What with the stress of being hounded by actual real-life mobsters and then the pressure of exams, it had been a while since the two of them had done anything beyond a casual kiss or snuggle since, Wallace had to think, since one night soon after moving in. Hardly their regular state of affairs. So, it was far from surprising just that one kiss to Steven’s chest was already proving a far more rewarding use of time than going through more study notes. So Wallace did it again, slower this time.

“Ahh…” Steven moaned as if reading his thoughts, fingers threading through Wallace’s hair.

“Oh, you want me to go on?” Wallace smiled and slipped his tongue out to flick it over Steven’s nipple.

“Ugh. You sure know how to make a dry studying session fun.” Steven lifted his hips slightly to take his trousers off. Wallace got the hint and moved aside to make room, quickly pulling his top over his head to catch up with Steven’s state of undress.

“Damn,” he remarked as Steven wriggled out of the fabric. “I didn’t know you could get so horny studying up on your criminal cases.”

“Gosh, you know I wasn’t until you came along and teased me like this.” Steven kicked his trousers to the foot of the bed, now spread out before Wallace in nothing but his boxers.

“I should help you take those off.” Wallace crawled backwards, trailing kisses down Steven’s abdomen, feeling around as he went. “Mmm...I can feel your abdominal pulse here as well.”

“Are we still doing a medical exam?” Steven laughed. “Then you can tell me about the shock and horror when you get confused about what’s under my pants.”

“I already know what’s under there.” Wallace pulled down Steven’s underwear, revealing the last of his body to be appreciated. “Ahhh…”

“Mm, you're going to make me blush.” Steven’s tone was still teasing, but there was a hint of something deeper that Wallace wanted to get more of. “You just said you already knew - _ah_!”

That was when Wallace brought his lips down on Steven’s clit, which must have been pretty sensitive if it made Steven gasp and tense up like that. He sucked on the tip for just a moment, then took him entirely in his mouth as Steven arched off the bed and moaned out loud.

Having his mouth so occupied meant Wallace could hardly do more than hum and keep going, but that was undoubtedly what Steven wanted most right now anyway. He swirled his tongue against the heated, almost surprisingly hard flesh, happy to be the reason Steven got to such a visible and palpable stage of arousal. For his part, Steven pressed his head down closer until Wallace was lost in his scent and taste as much as his partner must have been lost in the sensation.

“A-aaahh...that’s so…ughh...”

Hearing Steven already so incoherent only made Wallace double down on his efforts, even relaxing his hold on the other’s hips so Steven could thrust into his mouth at his leisure. Steven got louder, more demanding, but still at one point asked, “Wallace - you okay?”

“Mmm,“ was all the answer Wallace could spare without breaking contact, which he wouldn’t do for the world. Truth be told, his jaw did start to ache after a while of such pressure against his open mouth, and his tongue did get tired from pleasuring Steven until he gasped and writhed, but it was a good kind of tired and a good kind of pain, the kind that only made the whole thing more intense after so long. Servicing Steven like this was something he took pride in, this ability to make him come undone and hold nothing back.

“More...” Steven was pleading now, legs spread so wide apart that it was easier for him to just lie there, letting Wallace do the work. “Ahh you’re so...so good…”

Wallace swallowed another smug response along with some of Steven’s fluids, then kissed up his crotch to allow more space for his hand. With one finger, he followed the trail of Steven's wetness and pushed inside gently, feeling him wanting all around. With no resistance, he pushed in and out in a quick rhythm that had Steven begging, starting to finish, then withdrew and replaced the finger with his tongue, pressing it in as far as it would go.

“Aaaaah! Wallace --”

It was messy, so messy, Steven’s legs closed around his head and his clit was now somewhere near the bridge of Wallace’s nose, but all that was part of a satisfying whole as Steven came with a series of lewd noises and a squirt Wallace could both feel and taste.

Steven just lay there, shivering out his aftershocks as his legs gradually relaxed, allowing Wallace to rest his head on his inner thigh and take a few much needed deep breaths. When Wallace looked down, he saw Steven’s crotch flushed a deep pink hue and when he looked up, Steven was smiling tiredly down at him, still breathing hard.

“Wow, your face is a mess,” he breathed, dabbing at Wallace with a tissue he’d grabbed from the bedside table. “Thanks, that was incredible…”

“You’re just so sensitive,” Wallace couldn’t help pointing out - never mind that was how Steven usually was, though understandably even more so after a longer hiatus. “But...ugh. Ugh, I’ve forgotten just how much.”

“I’ve missed doing this.” Steven was smiling. “Okay, come up here…oh.”

It was when Wallace complied and climbed up onto him that Steven must have noticed he was far from the only one feeling the heat. Although still half-dressed, there was no way Wallace could have disguised the hard-on their previous activity had given him, definitely not now that he was rubbing up against Steven without even trying.

“Um, never mind that right now,” Wallace stammered, sure that Steven was happy to rest after all his exertions. That guess was quickly proven wrong when he felt his trousers being yanked down along with his underwear.

“Well, you could use some attention,” Steven said in a voice that seemed to borrow all of Wallace’s smugness, tossing the garments aside. “I don’t blame you, you know…” With that, he made himself comfortable between Wallace’s legs and slowly, excruciatingly slowly slid his lips over the head of Wallace’s erection.

The visual of Steven going down like this would have been good enough on its own, never mind put together with being even partly enveloped in that familiar mouth. “Aaah! Steven, ah --”

Steven hummed, bobbing his head a bit lower, making Wallace buck upwards without meaning to. “Mmmmh sorry, sorry I --”

But Steven was clearly not there for apologies, as he simply went on sucking at a maddeningly slow pace until Wallace was embarrassingly hard. “Mmm,” he finally pulled away, snaking a hand downwards to grasp Wallace’s length tightly. “I want you to finish inside me here…” He moved in closer, kneeling in front so that his vulva came into plain view.

“Oh?” Wallace recovered enough to get some of his mischievous streak back, daring Steven to be more explicit. “You want me to fuck you until you come again?”

“You put it so eloquently.” Steven relinquished his grip and instead positioned himself on all fours, facing away from Wallace. He leaned more on his uninjured side, resulting in his crouch being a very low one. His buttocks were left exposed, the outline of his body one smooth, curved arch. “Will it be enough if I say please?”

“You want it from behind…?” Wallace put two fingers in his mouth to give them some quick lubrication, then reached between Steven’s legs to brush them against his still-erect clit, earning a faint yelp in response. Encouraged, he moved on to Steven’s opening, finding no difficulty slipping in both the fingers after all the earlier simulation from his hand and tongue.

Steven protested halfheartedly, “Ahh yes but I - I wanted something bigger - like, your dick…”

“But it’s been so long… Let’s prepare you a bit first?” Wallace said like his arousal wasn’t driving him to distraction, insistent and wet from more than Steven’s saliva.

They’d done this enough times to establish that Steven in fact loved being teased and temporarily deprived, before getting the full extent of whatever Wallace had to give. Funniest of all, whenever he wasn’t in the process of being frustrated, Steven went on about how prolonging the experience made the whole thing more intense. He was panting now, obviously enjoying the fingers and probably capable of coming from those alone in due time, but far be it from Wallace to deny Steven’s wish for something more.

Kneeling close behind him, Wallace lined himself up with Steven’s inviting body, resting the tip of his cock where Steven was all wet, but not penetrating just yet. That alone was enough for Steven to push back. “Ugh no, hurry up!”

“Oh I wonder what it’s like to wait - but okay --”

There were times when Wallace would take it bit by bit to let Steven adjust, or when they’d use lube in place of foreplay or simply because one of them needed a little extra. And there were times, like today, when Steven wanted it fast and _now_. Holding onto his hips, it was more like being pulled deeper and deeper into Steven’s vagina than being in charge of the thrusting, everything hot and slippery and smooth. Both of them moaned all through the penetration, Wallace’s voice being the dominating one. Steven often teased him that he could be heard even from a soundproof room, but then how could anyone stay quiet while they did things like this?

Immersed in Steven completely now, feeling his pleasure like his own, Wallace knew he didn’t need to ask but wanted to hear it anyway. “Steven, mhmm...does this feel good?”

“Ahhhhh...it’s a lot but yes…” Steven let his head fall onto the pillow, tilting himself to align with Wallace better. “Keep - keep going…”

“Oh, ohh _fuck_ …” Hearing Steven's encouragement was always a turn-on, let alone when it was so desperate. Before he knew what he was doing, Wallace had established a demanding rhythm, not even sure anymore which part of their messy tangle of sensation was him and which was Steven. Already close to orgasm - and really it was no wonder after everything else tonight - all he could concentrate on was holding Steven close, supporting himself on one hand while the other raked over Steven’s body from below. Lips, nipples, abdomen, clit, Steven cried out at each one as Wallace rubbed and teased all his sensitive regions, draped over Steven’s back so that he could easily whisper in his ear, “Steven...my gorgeous…”

“Aah, you’re gorgeous Wallace...”

“Nooo, you,” Wallace insisted, accentuating each word with a slower, deeper thrust.

Steven was moaning almost as loudly as Wallace by now. “Mmm harder…go wild, don't stop…”

And although he was shaking from how long he’d been holding himself up, Steven managed to stay propped up on one elbow and smack Wallace’s hand away from his clit with his less strong hand, rubbing it harder the way he liked. “I’m almost - mhmm yes, yes - _aaahhh_!”

“Steven!” Wallace felt Steven's orgasm hit, pulsing around him to obliterate the last of his restraint - finally, _finally_ ; his hips slammed against Steven’s a few more times and they were both gone, the room echoing with their cries as Wallace rode out his climax inside Steven, loving the way each of them could feel the other finishing.

“Ughhh…” Steven groaned in that exhausted, overwhelmed way that drove Wallace crazy, “ugh, ughh…you're too much…”

Wallace could only moan and sigh, feeling quite the same way as Steven held him inside. They both collapsed onto the bed, too tired to stay in position anymore.

Even then, Wallace embraced Steven tight, humming breathlessly into his shoulder. They had come to rest on Steven’s freshly washed shirt, so he could smell the combined fragrances of the laundry and Steven’s sweat - it was a strange but reassuring smell.

“Mmm, Wallace…” Steven exhaled lazily and wriggled from under him, prompting Wallace to rearrange himself as well. Steven lay down on his back, his breathing still laboured but his face the picture of satisfaction.

“Can I...” Gently, Wallace nudged Steven’s legs apart, waiting for the sight of both their fluids dripping out as Steven’s body readjusted after sex. “Ugh, that looks wonderful…”

“Aaah...I’m so glad we can just do this without anything bad happening,” Steven added, running his fingers down his clit and then inserting one to feel the mess inside, sighing contentedly as Wallace watched him play. They had been intimate for a long time and had all the precautions in place to allow this without worrying about any consequences they did not want. The perks of modern testing and contraception, Wallace mused. Moments like this really were worth it.

“Anyway,” Steven startled him out of contemplation. “Come back here. I want you…”

“Is this really so comfortable for you?” Wallace teased as he followed Steven’s request, lying on top of him like a blanket. With their bodies aligned, their faces were close to each other again and Steven gave him a quick kiss, and then another one longer and deeper.

“Most comfortable feeling in the world,” Steven assured him. “I love you, Wallace.”

“Thanks.” Wallace smiled and ruffled Steven’s hair. He did appreciate Steven’s words, and he knew Steven was quite aware that he absolutely loved him back, but he still liked to play a little bit and not always follow the conventional responses when Steven got all romantic. “So...I’m not sure what I’ve learned from this session. Probably nothing I can put in the actual test.”

Steven laughed. “Well, I did help you feel around my heart and lungs. That has to be something, right?”

“You forgot the whole genitalia exam as well. Cheers.” As soon as he said it, Wallace found the whole situation way too amusing and ended up laughing too much. This was such an inappropriate way to talk about his profession, but it was only between him and Steven, and they did need something to make things fun and silly at times.

“Well if you’re not sure you can remember it all, maybe we could…” Steven said suggestively, wrapping his legs around Wallace’s lower body and rocking slightly against the mattress, “go through it again. How’s that?”

“Y-you want to go again? Right now?”

Steven just chuckled. “Mmm, in a bit maybe. Or have I completely worn you out today?”

Wallace blushed, not sure at which precise part of this situation: Steven being so funny and teasing, the way Steven rocked their embrace, or the low-key but undeniably intimate friction of grinding together where they were both still so sensitive. After all, he was nowhere near the age where he couldn’t recover quite fast, even without Steven out to drive him mad. “A-ah, up to you. If you keep doing this, we can soon…”

“Good.” Steven locked his legs around Wallace tighter. “That’s good.”

 


	8. All for Science

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's a new start for Wallace as he is accepted as an intern at Star Labs over the summer, but not all of his experiences there turn out as planned.

 

 

 

While Wallace did work his socks off, he also thought maybe he was spending too much time having sex with Steven these days rather than studying, and he feared that it might bite him when it came to results day. Fortunately though, all those worries went away when Wallace received his results. He passed pretty decently, considering all the skipped lectures in the past weeks and dealing with the police and criminals at the same time.

“I’m so glad for you!” Winona hugged Wallace as they celebrated their success in moving forward to yet another year. She was still using a walking stick, though she seemed to have recovered a lot more since they had last met.

“Well, I had no doubt you’d do just fine,” Wallace said, happy to still be with a companion in the next year after all. “So, what do you plan on doing this summer?”

“I think I should give my leg a bit more rest before I do more filming projects. Or maybe I’ll do something else for a change. I was wondering if I should go back with my parents and do some volunteering in my country. I haven’t been back in ages, but I don’t want to just laze about.”

“That sound great! But I guess that means we won’t be seeing each other for a while and the time difference means we can’t talk as much. We’ll keep in touch either way though, right?”

“Oh definitely. I’ll still get online and upload pictures and say hi every now and then. Say, what are you planning for the holidays then?”

Wallace pointed to the brand new lab next to the faculty building, which had finished construction during the time that they were sitting their exams. “I have a research project coming up over there.”

Winona looked on ahead. “Whoa. Neat! What’s it going to be on?”

“Hmm...I’ve no idea yet, actually. At least now I can finally catch up on the protocol.” Unless they got too distracted with Steven again. Could he read it in bed?

“Earth to Wallace,” Winona brought him back to the moment. “By the looks of it, you should definitely do that.”

~

 

Going through the project outline and protocols, Wallace felt a tap on his shoulder. He almost jumped, not used to the relative isolation of the lab he had just started working in.

“Hey. Uh...you Wallace?”

He came face to face with a young woman who had braided green hair and giant hoop earrings, a fashion sense that seemed to be on a similar wavelength with his own. She also donned a labcoat, though it hung open over a low-cut top or dress, leaving her cleavage visible in her lab attire. Her voice had a noticeable accent to it, one Wallace hadn’t heard around much before.

“Hi, yeah, that would be me. What’s your name?”

“Safe. I’m Cheryl. I’ve been told we’re working together or something.”

“Oh, I see! Nice to meet you.” He offered a handshake to which she responded to. “So what have you been told about the project?”

“Uh, I dunno nothing ‘bout this project. Were we supposed to read something before getting here?”

“Yeah, but I guess you can go through it quickly now...” Wallace turned the pages back to the beginning to try and summarize the protocol to his new colleague. “We’re basically processing these drugs into assays to measure how well they can dephosphorylate Tau proteins. We’re trying to measure how well this drug, called AX701, can potentially slow down or stop the progression of Alzheimer’s in human brain cells _in vitro_.”

“Huh...oh, right. Yeah.”

So far, the impression Cheryl gave off was a bit spaced out - not that Wallace was all that passionate about their impending task of mixing chemicals in test tubes either, but at the very least he knew he was interested in the research behind it. Cheryl read through the rest of the protocol and after a moment, she seemed to be clear on what to do. “Right then, I think I know what we’re doing.”

As they began to do the lab work, the pair engaged in small talk to try and get to know one another.

“So Cheryl, whereabouts are you from? How did you find out about these labs?”

“I’m from East London and I study at the uni nearby, doing Pharmacology. I came here ‘cause I heard they were giving out cash or something to students who’d do stuff in here, and I figured I might as well finally make money through a legit way rather than end up being skint. You?”

“Oh, I’m also from this uni! I study Medicine, but I haven’t seen you around here before. I’m here for the same reason really, I thought it would be good to do research and earn something over the summer.”

As the hours progressed and the test tubes were added to the centrifuge, the two found that there was not much else to do other than wait and continue chatting.

“How is Pharmacology for you then, Cheryl?”

“It’s all right I guess. So much to remember but like, I’m passing all my exams so that’s cool. Is Medicine quite hard?”

“It’s a lot to remember as well but I suppose I’m managing now. I had some issues towards the end of the year, but it turns out I also passed.”

“What issues? Gang tried to jack you up or something?”

Wallace blinked. “That’s almost exactly what happened.”

“Oh man, that’s peak.” Cheryl tapped her hands on the centrifuge machine, as if that were supposed to make it go faster. “This whole city is well dodgy, isn’t it?”

“Why, have you had some unfortunate dealings as well?”

“Um...kinda.” Cheryl looked away nervously before she made eye contact with Wallace again. “I used to smoke dope until one day I came across this wasteman who gave me something I swear was more like rat poison, so I got sick after that and things got bare weird. Now I don’t trust any of the dealers around here so I no longer buy from anyone.”

_Oh._ Wallace would have thought that drugs gone wrong would be bad enough on its own, but he found it a relief that his colleague hadn’t been assaulted by Team Galactic like him. “Sorry to hear. I wouldn’t know from experience, but that sounds awful.”

Eventually, the last test tube samples had been processed and it was just a matter of leaving them to sit for seven days. In the meantime, while preparing another batch, Cheryl said what Wallace had also been thinking.

“Damn, this experiment is long. You think they’ll care if we just like, left these samples spinning in the machine and went out to grab a bite instead of just hanging out here doing nothing?”

“Yeah, this isn’t really productive. I guess at least they’re paying us a lot. What time is it anyway - oh, it’s 4:30 pm already. Want to call it a day?”

“If you’re leaving, then I’m also gonna scram.”

The two of them left their desks ready for another day, labcoats draped over their seats as they packed their bags. Cheryl took out a flower headdress and put it on, making Wallace wonder if perhaps he ought to get such an accessory sometime as well.

~

 

As Wallace made his way to the lab he and Cheryl had been allocated to one day, he heard raised voices from a room nearby. Wondering if something serious was going down, he decided to take a peek. The arguing duo appeared to be two businessmen, one with red hair and glasses and a voice that sounded uptight and sarcastic. The other was a tanned, tough-looking man with a beard and a brash voice.

“I bet you my company can make the most ammonia,” the man with the red hair said with a smug face, adjusting his tie. “I’m going to make so much profit that I’ll stamp your stupid Aqua company off the face of the earth.”

“I don’t think so!” The other man yelled at him, waving his arms about. “I bet you don’t even know the equation to make ammonia! Well?! Do you?”

“Of course I do. Look, I’ll even recite it, but you better keep up or I fear your head may just start spinning. It’s 3 H2 \+ N2 <=> 2 NH3 . You got that?”

“And, do you know if it’s an endothermic or exothermic reaction?”

“Look Archie, I don’t have time for your games. So if you could go back to the kids’ room, and I’ll be making my profitable ammonia for the chemical industry, all right?”

“Or! Let’s have a battle. You and I! We’ll compete in an ammonia race and see who can make the most! Whoever wins is crowned the ammonia champion!”

The man with the glasses rolled his eyes. “All right, whatever. I’m far more concerned about my company profits but I’ll play along if it means I can get you out of my life as soon as possible.”

Entertaining as it was to watch them, Wallace figured he should be heading to his station soon, so he left the two belligerent strangers to their bickering as he continued on his way.

~

 

A few days into the project, the job was as monotonous as it could possibly get. Every now and then Wallace and Cheryl would escape the lab to take a break, finding that the intervals were too long to simply sit there but also too short to have a proper day out. During one of their breaks, the pair decided to explore another part of the facility related to the experiments that they were conducting.

“Check out these peeps,” Cheryl said, entering the room that encased several rodent specimens in glass tanks. “These rudeboys got given another form of the experimental drug, AX600, and they’re try’na see if it work on the rattatas. The ones on this side were given the drug.”

By now, Wallace had found out that Cheryl wasn’t quite as spacey as she sometimes came across. While she did seem like a bit of a dopehead, she was also pleasant to talk to and she carried out her work to a good standard - there had to be a way she was passing exams in her degree, after all. Wallace was surprised she even knew about parts of the lab that he didn’t.

They observed the rats on each side of the room. On the left were the control subjects - nothing unusual about them. On the right, there were the rats given the earlier version of the experimental drug. They seemed a lot less active.

“Hmm. Is this supposed to happen? I thought this drug was meant to _slow down_ the progression of Alzheimer’s, not accelerate it.”

“Allow that. Probably why they’re trying to make another version of the drug, ‘cause this one weren’t working. Look at these rats, they ain’t playing for real.” Cheryl turned around and headed for the door. “Wallace, I’m gonna go grab some tacos to eat. You wanna come with me?”

“I’m all right,” Wallace said, shifting his gaze away from the animals and back to Cheryl. “I have food with me so I’ll stay put, don’t worry.”

“‘Aight. Safe.” And with that, Cheryl left.

~

 

Having finished a nice homemade sandwich, Wallace decided to head back up to the lab where Cheryl might have already been waiting for him - no, probably not, since she was always late. The samples, on the other hand, were probably ready to be collected. He had almost walked the whole way when he noticed those two angry men bickering with each other again. They were standing in open view in a large laboratory with the door flung open, surrounded by several pieces of heavy machinery.

The businessman with the red hair was on one side of the room, setting his machine to 300 degrees Celsius. “It’s going to get quite hot in here. While I understand the reaction to produce ammonia is exothermic, chemicals react quicker at higher temperatures, and all I’m concerned with is making the product as fast as possible.”

“Whatever you say, scamp!” The brawny man opted for a more environmentally friendly temperature of 30 degrees.

The man in red laughed, then adjusted his glasses. “I knew you were a bit of a tool, Archie, but you can’t be serious. You’ve probably set the temperature to be low thinking you’d get a higher yield of Ammonia that way, but at 30C, the reaction would literally take years to produce any kind of decent effect. I’ve already won this.”

“We’ll see, Maxie! How long do you want this race to go on for?”

Maxie smirked. “Let’s make it one minute. I don’t have time to waste on your foolishness.”

“Just one minute! Don’t you move fast! That’s probably that’s how long you last in other places too!”

“Hey, I don’t need to hear your immature commentary,” Maxie hissed. “Do you have a better suggestion of our timeframe?”

“How about 80 years?”

Maxie frowned. “Archie, you complete idiot. Are you really trying to take advantage of this cold temperature setting and have the ‘race’ go on for years so you’ll win? I told you I am not here to waste time.”

Archie barked out a laugh. “I’m kidding! The look on your face was priceless. Fine, let’s make it one minute on your terms, you scamp.”

Wallace wasn’t sure why he was still watching - but he had to admit, this was some refreshing entertainment considering the labs were often quite a boring place aside from Cheryl’s commentary. He continued to watch as the machines were switched on simultaneously, and started doing their thing.

A minute passed and each of the two businessmen began to measure the yield of ammonia they had produced. Maxie looked pleased with his results - Wallace wasn’t sure about the exact measurement, but his container did contain quite a bit of the chemical.

However, when Archie took out his container, it had twice the amount of Maxie’s. Seeing this, Maxie gasped with such effort that his glasses dislodged and almost fell off his face.

  
“ _What?!_ ” Maxie pushed the glasses back up his nose and stood up straight. “No! Impossible! You must have cheated! There’s no way your reaction could have been faster than mine at those temperatures! You played foul!”

“Ha! Don’t be so silly, scamp. We never said that using catalysts for the reaction was considered cheating. Surely, you must know your chemistry better if you consider yourself a businessman in the chemical industry?”

Maxie looked at his rival as if he were about to choke him. “That does it! We’re going to have another race! I’ll show you!”

In his fury, Maxie cranked the pressure of the lab to 7000 atmospheres, way above the safety standards of the facility. Suddenly, the whole lab began to shake, accompanied by a cacophony of dangerous noises.

“Maxie, no! What are you doing?!”

Wallace, actually worried, decided it was too dangerous to hang around. He hit the nearest fire alarm before making a run for it. Once he was at a safe distance, he heard a faint explosion from the ammonia lab.

~

 

“That’s well out of order,” Cheryl commented in disapproval, as Wallace bandaged up both Maxie and Archie at the first aid station. “The hell were you rudeboys doing, you try’na take the piss yeah? Some of us wanna be doing work, and you go doing some shit like this to put us lot in danger like! We’re a bunch of skint students and you lot making bare cash and you still ain’t satisfied. Allow that, mate.”

“I’m sorry,” Maxie said, who despite his posh mannerisms seemed to actually understand her heavy slang. “I suppose I got a bit carried away.”

“Luckily no other parts of the lab were affected, it’s just that one room that has to be closed down for now. So our project is fine. Not sure about how your ammonia business here will work out though.” Wallace tied up the bandage around Maxie’s hand, then checked his pulse - probably not necessary seeing how he looked quite aware, but he wanted to make sure he wasn’t going into shock or anything.

“No, the girl’s right. It’s not really our place to be interfering with these labs. We’re just old men who need to get a life.” Archie looked over to his rival. “We messed up big time.”

“It’s not your fault. I’m the one who made the lab conditions so dangerous.” Maxie took his glasses off and looked back at Archie. Wallace could’ve sworn that there definitely was some kind of chemistry between these guys, besides just the ammonia sort.

The paramedics arrived on the scene and took over from Wallace’s first aid after he provided them all the information on his two patients. Along with the ambulance, Steven also rushed in from his car, since Wallace had texted him earlier about the situation.

“Wallace! What happened here? Are you hurt?!”

“Relax, Steven. I’m fine.” Wallace hugged his partner.

“Who’s this bruv? He’s well buff.” Cheryl asked, referring to Steven who simply looked baffled in response.

“Ahaha...Cheryl, this is Steven. He’s my boyfriend. Steven, this is my new colleague Cheryl.”

“Nice to meet you, Cheryl,” Steven said, offering a handshake which Cheryl responded to.

“Safe. Nice ride you got there.” She looked around. “You think we can like, leave here early since we can’t do no work until they reopen the lab so like. I could hitch a ride yeah?”

Wallace laughed. “Steve, you’re picking up a lot of ladies with that car of yours. Aren’t you pleased with yourself?”

“ _Wall,_ you know you are the only Queen for me.”

They all walked back up to the car, Cheryl climbing into the backseat first. She didn’t comment on their flirty exchange, which Wallace was thankful for as he replied with a hint of smugness, “I know.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> These labs are really unsupervised...wonder what's up with that?


End file.
